Aim For The Heart
by The Instincts. Amplified
Summary: It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave. *Indefinite hiatus*
1. Prologue

**Aim For The Heart**

**Authors' Note:** _This is the first Criminal Minds fanfic attempt either of us have made, so be kind. Don't whump us too much. Also, we love reviews almost as much as we love Reid, (which is a darn lot!). Not-beta'd (there are two of us though). Just a little warning: no character is safe in this story! Story may have a super-cool rating change as it progresses,_

_Cara and Ava._

**Summary:** _It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

**Disclaimer:** _Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

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_**Prologue**_

_"One learns people through the heart, not the eyes or the intellect." ~ Mark Twain_

It was one of the hardest decisions he'd ever had to make in his entire life. It brought back memories of when a colleague of his had been in a similar situation.

But this was different. He knew what ever he said, in some way, blood would be spilt.

"Choose." the cruel voice said once again.

"You know I can't." he replied.

"How about I make the decision for you?"

The line was filled with one woman screaming, and another yelling for their captor to stop. His heart filled with dread, when only sobbing remained.

"One down, one to go."

The line went dead.

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	2. Case: Closed

_**Summary:**__ It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Author's Note: **__Just a reminder; this is set pre Cradle to Grave, so Hotch is still the boss-man! Thanks to our reviewers Meenee126 and imajazzbandnerd!_

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_**Chapter One**_**: Case; Closed**

_An old Irish saying, 'Níl saoi gan locht,' translates as saying 'A wise man is not without fault.'_

"Hey Hotch, you up for a drink man?" Morgan asked his boss as they returned to the bullpen after a long case.

"I know I am!" Emily called out from her own desk.

"Sure, I just have some paperwork to finish," Hotch replied, raising the eyebrows of some of his team.

"Didn't you finish your paperwork on the jet?" Rossi asked suspiciously.

"It's not from that case," Hotch said quietly as he went to take refuge in his office.

"He'll never stop until he's caught is he?" Emily sighed. Everyone knew that Hotch had been working longer than usual hours recently in a bid to get the one UnSub that continued to escape their grasp.

"Prentiss, he got stabbed nine times. Would you let it go?" Morgan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not to mention he hasn't seen Jack in weeks," JJ commented, walking into the bullpen mid-conversation, "I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't see Henry for that long."

"Well, we better get going. We spent enough time here as it is!" Prentiss sighed as she slung her jacket over her shoulder.

"You know you love it. The BAU, like our second home." Morgan grinned, "God knows I spend more time here than I do at my own home."

"You guys going for a drink?" JJ asked.

"Yeah, you coming?" Prentiss asked in reply.

"Yeah, sure. I just need to call Will first. I'll meet you there. Where's Spence?"

"Where do you think? In the break room getting himself fifteen cups of coffee," Morgan commented, rolling his eyes as he and Prentiss headed towards the elevator, "He and Garcia are going to meet us there. You coming Rossi?"

"I'll catch up with you guys," Rossi replied as he walked in the direction of Hotch's office.

"Well at least someone's going to talk some sense into him," Prentiss sighed as she and Morgan stepped into the elevator. "See you later JJ!" Emily called as the doors closed.

----

Aaron Hotchner focused on the case file in front of him. The one he'd been obsessing over for weeks now. The edges of the pages were worn from his fixation, constantly checking for anything they'd missed. He was exhausted after their current case - a child abduction in Nebraska, to add insult to injury - but his determination over rode his exhaustion. It was as if he was on auto-pilot, checking over the Foyet file had become so routine these days.

He didn't even stir when he heard the door of his office open. He had a feeling he'd be confronted on the matter one of these days, it only had to be a matter of time...

"Aaron, you need to stop this."

"You need to learn to knock," Hotchner said without even looking up from the file.

"He'll slip up eventually Aaron, they all do."

"How long is eventually David?" Aaron snapped, looking up for the first time since Rossi had entered the room, "I've already missed one birthday - I can't miss another."

"And you won't. We'll get him."

"When? How? He stopped killing for ten years after making the deal with Shaunessy." Aaron pointed out.

"You didn't make the deal." Rossi reasoned.

"I know I didn't. And because of me, a bus full of people were murdered. And Haley and Jack had to uproot their entire life. Maybe I should have made the deal."

Rossi slammed his hands on the table, "Don't say that! Don't ever say anything like that. You did what you thought was right! You did what any of us would do! Stop blaming yourself!"

Hotch snorted, "Than who am I meant to blame?"

Rossi scoffed as if the answer was the simplest thing in the world, before stating one word, "Foyet."

----

It had been too easy really. Easier than he'd imagined. Their pathetic attempts at ruining his plans had failed.

It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. He sat staring at the list in front of him, and tried to figure out where he should start. The pictures laid out in front of him, a few that had been inconspicuously stolen from his target's home, were aiding his decision. They really had made this too easy for him.

Laid next to the picture of his first victim-to-be was a picture of six other possible victims and his target. Who would he choose? The macho man? The curvaceous blonde he had his arm around? The more senior man sitting on a chair, or the brunette flung across his lap, head tipped back in laughter? Or the young blonde, giving the youngest, yet tallest man (who was blushing furiously) in the group a peck on the cheek?

He smirked at the thought of their discovering that he had chosen his victims from such a happy occasion, frozen in time.

He made his choice. It was too obvious really. He grabbed his red marker and placed a large 'x' over one of the faces.

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	3. Fun: Interrupted

**Summary:**_ It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

**Disclaimer:** _Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

**Author's Note: **_Just a reminder; this is set pre Cradle to Grave, so Hotch is still the boss-man! Spoilers for episode 2x15 (i.e Revelations) and other minor spoilers through the series. So if you haven't seen Revelations, when Georgia is first mentioned, it may be best for you to skip past that bit, some plot give away there. Minor references to other episodes throughout the series. Some nice Team-fluff in this chapter with a small dash of angst. And before the chapter, just a shout out to our amazing reviewers! Thank you .harm, the-vampire-act-, RodentOfUnusualSize, nexis44, Dicsi and imajazzbandnerd! You guys really made our day with our reviews - we were squealing with excitement when we saw the response we got from the last chapter! All of the reviewers should have gotten a personal message from me, and Cara will get around to doing it soon. The advantages of having your own laptop huh? (Hence why I'm the one updating!) Also, thanks to all those who put this story on their story alerts and/or favourites - many thanks! Enjoy the latest addition!_

_x Ava (One half of The Instincts. Amplified)_

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**Chapter Two_ - Fun; Interrupted_**

"_We are driven by five genetic needs: survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun." - William Glasser._

"All I'm saying is I don't think he'll be on top of his game until that son of a bitch is dead, or at least locked up again," Morgan concurred as he swirled the contents of his glass.

"He seems to be coping surprisingly well," Reid stated plainly.

"That's because he's Hotch. Emotion was never his strong suit. He's only coping by obsessing over the case." Morgan replied.

Emily rejoined the group, with another round of drinks, almost tripping over Reid's crutches in the process. "Reid! I swear one of these days I'll trip over those things and dislocate my shoulder!"

"Don't insult Reid's new mode of transport Prentiss," Morgan said with a grin, while Reid moved the crutches out of harm's way and mumbled, "Sorry."

"How long left until you're off the crutches Spence?" JJ asked concerned as she emptied her glass.

"Too long," Reid sighed, "but at least I'm finally cleared to travel."

"What you didn't enjoy our quality time together Junior G-man?" Garcia asked, looking slightly wounded.

"I didn't say that!" Reid protested.

"You didn't need to; it was implied!" Morgan goaded.

Reid thanked his lucky stars when he saw Rossi enter the bar and distract the rest of the team from their discussion. His heart sank when Rossi asked, "What are we all talking about?" when he joined the team at the table.

"How relieved Reid is that he's cleared for travel so he doesn't have to spend anymore time with Garcia," Emily said, while shooting Reid an evil grin.

"I didn't mean it like that - and I already apologised about almost killing you!" was Reid's defence.

"Whoa, what have I missed?" Rossi asked, confusion evident on his face.

"Basically, Reid hates the team." Morgan replied, reaching for another drink.

Reid blushed furiously and squeaked out, "I don't hate the team! Stop twisting my words!"

"So you want to marry JJ is that what you said Reid? Sorry man, LaMontagne got there first." Morgan said, taking the 'twisting Reid's words' idea to a whole new level.

Before Reid could protest any longer, JJ cut in, "Moving on from wedding plans. So what kept you Rossi?"

Rossi sighed, "Had to talk to Hotch. His moping has gone on for too long."

"He's just lost his family Rossi, how would you be feeling?" Emily replied, a little hostile.

"But Haley isn't dead, Emily. They're in witness protection. It's not like he'll never see them again." JJ input.

"How would you feel if it was Will and Henry?" Emily shot back.

JJ had no answer to that, and began running her finger around the rim of her half empty glass.

"Well if we don't find Foyet soon, there is the possibility..." Morgan began, but left the words to linger. The whole team sat silently around the table in thought.

"Cases like these suck," Emily sighed.

"Let's just hope this case doesn't have a similar ending to the Nevada case." Reid mumbled.

"Which one Reid?" Morgan asked rolling his eyes.

"Frank," Reid said quietly.

The team sat in silence as they thought of Frank's impact on the team.

"This won't end like that case," Rossi said confidently, "Hotch would never leave this team."

"Well we never thought Gideon would leave us either," Morgan said curtly, before shooting a brief look at Reid and adding, "especially not when he was needed most."

"No, Rossi's right. Hotch would never leave. We're too much of a family for that." Emily said, before falling silent, blushing.

"We've been through too much," Morgan said, nudging Prentiss, "We've lost Gideon and Elle. We can't, we won't lose anyone else. We've had too many close calls."

Reid, Emily, JJ and Garcia simultaneously said four different things; "Georgia", "Colorado," "New York", and "Battle" quietly.

Rossi looked at Reid confused. "What case in Georgia?"

Reid suddenly found a new interest in the drink in front of him. Rossi noticed the rest of the team looking at Reid in great concern, and realised that this Georgia case hadn't been an easy one.

"Ever heard of the Tobias Hankel case?" Morgan asked Rossi quietly when Reid didn't respond.

"Don't you mean the Tobias Hankel/Charles Hankel/Raphael case?" JJ muttered darkly.

"JJ!" Garcia scolded quietly, attempting to kick her under the table, but got Prentiss instead, who swore uncharacteristically.

Rossi looked confused, "The Dissociative Identity Disorder case in Georgia three years ago? Wasn't an agent kidnapped?"

"That's the one," Prentiss said, rubbing her leg.

"I didn't know the BAU worked on that case." Rossi said, surprised.

"Well, we did." Morgan said shortly.

"How long did it go on for?" Rossi asked. He knew the case had been a bad one, but they had seen worse since he'd arrived on the team.

"We had several bodies by the time we discovered who the UnSub was," Emily replied quietly, praying for the conversation to end.

"Which one of you was it?" Rossi asked bluntly.

The team looked at him, confused.

"Which one of us did what?" JJ asked, confused.

"I remember hearing about a case because an FBI agent was kidnapped. Which one of you was it?" Rossi asked, though he felt that he already knew the answer.

None of the team spoke, but at that moment, music kicked in through the speakers.

Garcia was first to speak, simply stating, "I love this song!" and dragging Morgan up from his seat. "You are coming dancing with me, my chocolate Adonis." she purred. The two quickly disappeared towards the dance floor.

"Chickens," JJ muttered quietly.

Emily looked at the remaining members of the team, "You guys coming?"

"Emily, I can barely dance when I have full use of my legs. You really think that being on crutches will help?" Reid said, looking up for the first time since the tense conversation had begun.

"Never know, it could have improved your balance!" Emily grinned, "JJ, Rossi, you joining us?"

"I'll keep Spence company." JJ volunteered, making herself comfortable.

"Your choice! Rossi?" Emily said, turning to the older team member.

"I'll be right down," Rossi said.

"Don't bail out on me Rossi, I know where to find you!" Emily said before disappearing into the crowd.

The other three sat in silence for a moment before Reid spoke again. "I guess you've figured it out?"

Rossi nodded, also thinking in the back of his mind of the last case they'd had in Florida, and how Reid had been the one to recognise the symptoms of DID. Satisfied at receiving an answer, he went to join the others on the dance floor.

"About time!" Emily had to yell over the loud music, "I wasn't sure if you'd be able to handle my moves!"

"I wanted to give you the chance to get into your groove before I showed you how it was really done," Rossi grinned before proceeding to do some old school disco dance moves, much to Emily's amusement.

They danced and laughed, glad for their down time. JJ and Reid watched them from their table.

"You okay?" JJ asked Reid with concerned.

"I'm fine," Reid replied, indicating that the opposite was true.

"What are you thinking about?" JJ asked.

"I'm thinking..." Reid mused, "How long will I be able to use these crutches as an excuse for not having to join them dancing."

JJ's chuckle was cut short by her cell phone ringing.

"Agent Jareau." she answered, before listening in on the other end.

Several moments passed before JJ spoke again, "Okay thanks... yeah that'd be good. Yes, I can get them as soon as I can... okay. Goodbye." She than put her phone back in her pocket before standing up.

"Where to next?" Reid asked curiously.

"How do you know we're going anywhere?" JJ asked in reply, "For all you know, that could've been Will."

"Your face wouldn't have fallen if it was Will. I'm a profiler JJ, remember?" Reid smirked.

"You'll find out at back at the BAU!" she said before heading to the dance floor for the rest of the team. Reid grumbled as he very awkwardly got to his feet and hopped after her on his crutches.

"Hey tell me! That isn't fair!" Reid protested.

"You're a profiler, you should've known I'd do that!" JJ called over her shoulder, not even pausing for a moment.

"So you finally decided to join us, cupcake?" Garcia yelled jumping up and down in time to the music.

"We have to go," JJ said mournfully. "New case just came in."

"Damn cases, keep interrupting my groovin'." Morgan mumbled sulkily.

At that moment, the music briefly stopped as Rossi and Emily rejoined the group.

"We've got a case," JJ informed them.

Emily sighed, "_Nuair a stadann an ceol, stadann an rince._"

The others perplexed, looked at Reid who'd just joined them, to see if he could make any sense of it.

"Don't look at me, apparently I'm only a genius in English." Reid said looking dejected at the memory.

"Reid that was five years ago," Morgan laughed shaking his head, "You think after Elle said that you'd have become fluent in everything by now..."

"Actually I'm not surprised he wouldn't know it," Emily interrupted, "I only know it because one of my mother's _acquaintances _was an Irish diplomat."

"So what does it mean?" Garcia asked, intrigued.

"When the music stops, so does the dance."

"Too true..." Morgan muttered, walking towards the exit, "Too true..."

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	4. Destination: Orlando

**Summary: **_It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

**Disclaimer: **_Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world. We also don't own half of these places in Orlando, Fl._

**Author's Note: **_Just a reminder; this is set pre Cradle to Grave, so Hotch is still the boss-man! Thanks again to our reviewers for the last chapter; nexis44, Dicsi, the-vampire-act and jessalynnGSR! Thanks also to those who are still adding this to their story alerts also! The case begins here - we tried to get everything as accurate as we could! It's amazing the things that can get done with two brains - Cara comes up with Garcia's little mannerisms and Rossi's moves. Ava comes up with area location and Reid's statistics. Cara comes up with the ending of this, when it was missing a little *pah*. Ava comes up with the final line. It's a team effort guys! Enjoy the latest installment!_

_Cara and Ava. x_

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_The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands. ~ Robert M. Persig._

**Chapter Three: _Destination; Orlando_**

Morgan hadn't stopping complaining all the way back to the BAU.

"Morgan, would you please shut up," Emily grumbled, "you're lucky we got the call when we did, Rossi was just about to start the robot!"

The rest of the team chuckled, and Hotch came in and joined them.

"What have we got?" he asked.

"Orlando, Florida." JJ sighed.

"Disney world?" Reid asked, perking up a bit.

"You really think we're going to be able to go to Disney world?" Morgan grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Maybe once the case is over...?" Reid suggested, glancing at Hotch.

"Reid, Disney world is for little five year olds." Morgan snapped.

"Than that's the perfect place for you Morgan," Emily said with a grin.

Hotch cleared his throat loudly and the rest of the team fell silent. "JJ, continue."

"First victim; Ivy Stevens, twenty three years old. She was a lifeguard at a local water park in Orlando, not far from where she was found. She was found after being stabbed twenty three times in the parking lot of her local Walgreen's."

"Twenty three times, that took time." Emily commented.

"He enjoys watching his victim suffer." Rossi noted.

JJ clicked a button and two photos appeared on the screen; one of the woman's driver's licence. It showed a Caucasian young woman with long black hair and icy blue eyes. The photo next to it showed the same woman, only completely covered in her own blood, eyes staring blankly.

"Well he definitely enjoyed making her suffer," Morgan said in a tone of disgust.

"Next victim was twenty five year old Georgia Everett. She was found in the changing rooms of a boutique in her local mall. She was stabbed twenty five times."

Like before, two pictures appeared on the screen. One of a tall, thin, brown haired, brown eyed girl - the next of her curled up covered in blood, her eyes also open in horror. The dress she was wearing, still with the shop tags attached, was covered in a layer of her blood.

"Cara Casey, sixteen, was found in the bathroom of a the TGI Friday's on International Drive, just three days later. She was stabbed sixteen times. She also however, had several defensive wounds on her hands."

"She fought." Prentiss said, nodding her approval.

Another picture, this time clearly a passport picture. The girl was smiling, her hazel eyes bright and shining and her short hair tied back from her face. The next, showed a once pristine restaurant bathroom now completely blood splattered, with the same girl laying on the floor.

"The latest victim was discovered an hour ago. Fourteen year old Lacey Jones." The rest of the team look horrified when they heard the age of the newest victim. JJ continued, "She was found in her Holiday Inn hotel room lying dead on the bed after being stabbed -"

"Let me guess," Rossi interrupted, "Fourteen times?"

The rest of the team were surprised when JJ shook her head and replied uneasily, "Nine times."

The team tried not to look at Hotch at this new turn in events. Unsurprisingly, the Unit Chief didn't leave the information affect his stoic expression.

"He could have been interrupted," Prentiss input, "He had a signature, the newest killing doesn't fit with that unless he was cut short."

"An UnSub this organised would never have left it unfinished." Hotch countered.

"If the UnSub were in danger of getting caught, I think he'd run rather than finish the job," Morgan argued.

"Well this is too much for the Orlando Police Department, and they've finally asked for our help." JJ input, "Lead Detective Kenneth Devlin said that this case was way over their heads."

"That's not very shocking," Reid said, before adding, "In 2005, the population of Orlando was 210,290 and out of that only twenty-two were murdered. Also, Orlando is quite a popular tourist spot; so it is quite fortunate that its serial killer population is practically non existent."

"Well it looks like we're going to Orlando. Everyone, we'll meet on the jet in twenty minutes." Hotchner told the team before exiting.

"This is going to be a bad one isn't it?" JJ asked Emily as they headed to get their overnight bags.

"Definitely." Emily replied. "I don't see it ending too well for any of us."

* * *

"He's evolving," Prentiss stated as she looked over her copy of the file on the jet.

"He's one confident son of a bitch, that's for sure." Morgan said in disgust. "Killing someone in an alley, and getting away with it, that's not much to brag about. But in the changing rooms of a women's clothing store? Come on. That's being cocky."

"He certainly has a type," Rossi stated, "Teenagers and younger women. Caucasian. Sounds like opportunistic kills. He simply comes across these women, and decides to kill them."

"What have you got for us on the victims Garcia?" Hotch asked, looking at the screen of the laptop with Garcia's face just in view.

"Not many connections. Cara Casey, Georgia Everett and Ivy Stevens were Orlando natives, while Lacey Jones was on holiday with her family here."

"Having your daughter murdered isn't something you'd expect while enjoying your holidays," JJ mumbled bitterly.

"So there's no evidence the victims ever met?" Prentiss asked the Technical Analyst.

"Not so fast lambchop; it turns out that the TGI Friday's Cara Casey was found dead in not only happens to be across the road from the hotel-based Starbuck's where she works part-time, but also across from the Holiday Inn where Lacey Jones was staying. Also; the Walgreen's where Ivy Stevens was killed, as well as shopping mall where Georgia Everett was killed, all happen to be extremely nearby. This psycho isn't leaving International Drive, AKA tourist town."

"That's one hell of Geographical Profile for you Reid!" Morgan smirked at the young genius.

"Thanks Garcia, keep digging on the victims." Hotchner told the Tech Analyst.

"Will do Boss-man. Garcia out!"

"Morgan's right Reid; you work on the Geographical Profile."

Reid opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it, instead choosing to slump back in his seat, glaring darkly and muttering, "First Disney world, now this...."

The corner of Hotch's mouth twitched slightly before he continued, "Morgan; you take the morgue to examine the other bodies. We need to figure out just how our UnSub killed the victims without a sound in such public places. Prentiss; you're with me. The lead detective will meet us at the latest crime scene. OPD have left it untouched for our arrival. Rossi, you take the other crime scenes. One of the local cops will meet you at the pharmacy Ivy Stevens was murdered outside. Morgan will join you when he's finished at the morgue. And JJ, you talk to the victims' families. We land in ten minutes."

They each nodded in turn, and started to pack up the files. Standing up, Emily reached for her bag, while JJ started for the captain's cabin.

Suddenly the plane shook, knocking them both to the ground.

"Women bowing down at my feet, knew it would happen one day," Morgan said, grinning at the two flung in front of him, as he nudged Emily with his foot.

Struggling to stand, JJ untangled herself from the brunette, "Damn turbulence."

Fixing her shirt, Emily gave Morgan a cheeky smile, "Give me more time and you'll be-"

"Prentiss!" Rossi said, raising an eyebrow.

"Saved by the landing," Morgan said, looking out the window. "Victims, fun. More fun than Disney world."

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	5. Wanted: UnSub, Part I

**Summary: **_It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave_.

**Disclaimer:**_Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world. Also, we don't own any of the places where the crime scenes occur!_

**Author's Note: **_Just a reminder; this is set preCradle to Grave, so Hotch is still the boss-man! And Ava admits that she went and turned into a bit of dictator on this chapter! This chapter originally had more parts in it, but due to it's current length, some bits were cut from it. So Ava did the first half, Cara the second half (i.e the next chapter). Although the Hotch and Prentiss scene was written by Cara. This chapter sees the introduction of some important characters; the police officers the BAU will be working with. Also there are a few random references to other BAU cases. So enjoy the latest installment!_

_Cara and Ava. x (The Instincts. Amplified.)_

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**Chapter Four - **_**Wanted; UnSub. Part One.**_

_'Many commit the same crimes with a very different result. One bears a cross for his crime; another a crown.' ~ Juvenal_

**The Stevens' Residence, Orlando FL.**

"I can't imagine what you're going through Mrs Stevens," JJ said, in an attempt to console the mother of 23-year-old Ivy Stevens, "but I was wondering if you would be willing to answer a few question about your daughter?"

Chloe Stevens nodded, and allowed JJ into the home she had shared with her husband and daughter, until her daughter's life was cut short. JJ looked around the family's living room, and noted that the mantelpiece had several photos of the couple's only child. Chloe Stevens returned several moments later with her husband.

"This is my husband Philip," Mrs Stevens said as she sat down on the couch next to her husband, and gestured for JJ to sit on the chair opposite.

"You have some questions for us regarding Ivy?" Philip Stevens asked quietly.

"I realise this may be difficult, but it would help our investigation immensely if you could tell us a few things. About Ivy?" JJ prompted.

The parents paused in though, trying to find something useful for the FBI agent.

"We... just don't see why someone would target her. She was our little angel. Just one look at those big blue eyes... and we could never stay angry at her. How could someone see those eyes and yet continue stabbing her?" Phillip Stevens sighed, genuinely perplexed.

JJ couldn't respond to that, and so she waited for one of the distraught parents to speak again.

"She loved her job," Chloe Stevens half-chuckled, half-sobbed, "She loved that water park so much, and becoming a life guard there just seemed like a natural step for her. But she was so popular there. I just don't understand why someone would want to hurt her. She always did her best to get on with everyone..."

Mr Stevens took up where his wife left off. "This is all my fault," he sighed, "I should've gone with her to the pharmacy. Maybe than..."

"You could have never predicted this would happen. This is not your fault." JJ said reassuringly.

"Please," Mr Stevens pleaded, tears threatening to spill, "find the person who did this to our daughter."

"We will," JJ promised sombrely.

* * *

**Lacey Jones Crime Scene, Quality Inn, International Drive, Orlando, Fl.**

"When we heard you guys were coming, we left everything, Figured you might want to see it exactly the way we found it," the officer said unlocking the door.

"Thanks," Prentiss said pulling on her gloves.

"You really think you can catch this guy?"

"We hope so," Hotch said, edging past the balding man, towards the body by the window, covered by a white sheet. All that could be seen were lily white feet, sandals close by.

"It's such a shame, pretty young thing, had her whole life ahead of her -"

"Thanks, Charlie I got it from here." Detective Devlin interrupted. He was silent until the officer had left the room.

"What kind of son a bitch would do this to a fourteen year old girl?" he asked, not moving from the door.

Hotch walked slowly to over to the bed, crouching down beside it he pulled back the sheet, bracing himself for what he knew would be unveiled. It was worse than the crime scene photos. Her eyes were open slightly and still filled with fear, closing his eyes briefly her pulled the sheet down further.

_Nine times, it seemed like so many more, it seemed to last a life time._

"The family are really cut up about it," Devlin said, shaking his head.

"No, really? Can't imagine why!" Emily muttered sarcastically, crouching down opposite her boss.

She looked up expecting to hear "Prentiss!" in the stern tone she had become accustomed to. Instead she found him staring down at the young girl, his jaw slightly clenched. She looked hurriedly down at the exposed body, feeling as though, for some reason, she had just seen something quite intimate.

She cleared her throat quietly. "The stab wounds seem random. Some on the stomach, some on the chest, some on the shoulders. There's cuts on the bicep, almost like the knife slipped. This UnSub seems more controlled than that, though. The wounds are precise, there's no hesitation."

She stood up, unsure as to cover the young girl or leave it for Hotch to do. The decision was made for her however, when Hotch began to rise.

"Prentiss, see if there's anything to help us with the profile."

"Yes, sir."

"She must have been in so much pain," the detective said, walking in to the room for the first time since they arrived at the scene.

"She was." Hotch murmured, as her pulled the sheet over her head.

"Suppose we can only imagine what she went through," said Devlin, sadly.

"Some of us don't have to." Hotch replied shortly.

There was a pregnant pause, broken by

"Hotch, come take a look at this."

"What am I looking at, Prentiss?" asked Hotch as he walked towards the nightstand by the bed.

"I didn't see straight away either." she said softly, bending down. She stood slowly, the fingers of her outheld hand slightly curled.

"It's a butterfly." Hotch said simply.

"Danaus plexippus," she said, holding it up higher. "Monarch butterfly," Emily explained, seeing his confused frown.

"It's native to,"she paused, under the pretense of shifting towards the light, " to Colorado" she continued. "They do migrate to Florida. What I did find odd was, the wing veins have been slit very carefully, so the wing isn't falling apart and the abdomin has tiny marks, you have to look very closely to see them. It looks like pin marks to me.

"You noticed all of that in the space of three minutes?" Hotch asked, staring at her dumb struck.

She nodded, smiling shyly.

"I'm impressed. But, like you said, if it migrates to Florida..."

Garcia did her thing, Lacey was here on holiday."

"I know, JJ mentioned it in the briefing"

"She was here on holiday from Colorado"

* * *

**Morgue, Orlando, Fl.**

Even though seeing dead bodies was in his job description, it wasn't exactly something you ever got used to. Derek Morgan had seen a lot of bodies in his time. Those of those close to him, such as his father, those he never knew, such as the body he had discovered in his youth and raised a collection to have buried, and those he had gotten to know, and wouldn't forget in a hurry. Like Detective Ware from one of their many cases in New York.

Yes, Derek Morgan had seen plenty of bodies, some more horrific than others, but that didn't mean it didn't bother him.

"Agent Morgan?" an older man asked him. He was donned in a white lab coat and medical scrubs, and the glasses he was wearing on his face were barely on the edge of his nose. He smiled at Morgan warmly. "I'm the medical examiner. I examined the bodies both at the scene and once they were transported here."

"Ah, Doctor Reese?" Morgan enquired. He had come across the name in the files, and prayed that he had the right name.

"Yes. I'm very sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances. Shall we proceed?" he asked, gesturing to the tables behind him, on which several bodies lay covered in sheets.

"I guess it's now or never," Morgan sighed.

"Shall we start in order? Phillip and Chloe Stevens are quite anxious to bury their daughter, so perhaps it would be best if young Ivy was the first to be examined. We have postponed her funeral for long enough."

Morgan walked with Doctor Reese to the first body in the line of tables, and Doctor Reese pulled the sheet back.

Ivy Stevens was now paler than she ever looked. Her blue eyes were now shut, which Morgan was secretly thankful for. Her ebony hair was tangled and still blood stained, and her pale face had a few superficial cuts upon it. Her abdomen was a mess, and Morgan had not seen many cases like it before. It was unnerving.

"Whoever did this knew what he was doing," Doctor Reese sighed, "She was stabbed a total of twenty-three times, as I'm sure you've been told. This offender knew what he was doing. Hit most of the major veins and arteries, including the Hepatic vein and artery, which supplies blood to the liver, the Renal vein and artery, which supplies blood to the kidneys and the inferior Vena Cava, which is the crucial vessel for supplying the heart with blood. He completely tore most of her organs to shreds, but everywhere that was struck caused major damage."

"So would our UnSub have needed to have had any medical training to have known where to hit the major blood vessels?" Morgan questioned.

"Oh my, no," the older man replied, "A seventeen year old studying biology in school could tell you this," he added with a slight chuckle. He walked to the next table, where another body lay, and gestured for Morgan to follow.

The first thing noted about Georgia Everett, was although she was a twenty-five year old woman, she probably still would have been taller than him. She had mid-length brown curls, and her brown eyes were also shut. Morgan noticed that no significant damage had been done to the young girl's face, or neck.

This probed Morgan to ask the obvious question, "How would someone manage to kill her in such a public place?"

"Ah," Doctor Reese began, "I asked that very question myself when young Miss Everett was discovered. It seems that the 'UnSub' as you call it, stabbed _through_the ribcage, dodging the bones, to first destroy the lungs, and the trachea also. He also severed the Pulmonary archery and vein, some more major blood vessels, which serve the lungs. And once she could not scream, he proceeded with his previous work - the Hepatic Vein and artery, et cetera."

"And Cara Casey?" Morgan asked, referring to the youngest of the victims currently in the morgue.

"Also stabbed through the ribcage; he obviously wanted to silence her as quickly as he could," Doctor Reese said, leading Morgan to the table where Cara Casey lay. He pulled the sheet down. Cara's injuries were a little easier on the eyes, as she had been given a stab wound for every year of her age, but the fact that it was a sixteen year old laying on the table didn't sit well with Morgan.

"Once he'd silenced her, he continued with his stabbing signature. Another interesting thing to note is that all of the victims have small prick marks on the crook of their elbows." Doctor Reese continued.

Morgan frowned, "But they weren't... addicts?"

"Toxscreen came up negative," Doctor Reese replied, "and the syringe used on our victims was used shortly before their deaths. What it was used for, I'm not quite sure. No drugs were found in the bloodstreams of any of the victims."

That had added a whole new mystery to things. Four girls were dead, and it seemed that this UnSub had no remorse for what they'd done. It may have been his job to understand these criminals, but when it came down to it, Morgan was left wondering if anyone could truly understand why these people did what they did.

* * *

**Home of Georgia Everett's family, Orlando, Fl.**

Once JJ had entered Georgia Everett's family home, she began to see that the UnSub had certainly not chosen both Ivy and Georgia by the family background. Compared to the home of the Stevens family, the Everett's home was quite modest.

Georgia Everett was the eldest of three children; supported only by their single father, following the suicide of her mother. She had remained close to home even after she had finished school, and worked in a computer store near International Drive.

JJ stood in the family's kitchen, and looked at the family photos. Milestone photos of the entire family. Georgia's first birthday, Georgia's first car, Georgia's 21st. Other family occasions.

"She was a special girl, our Georgia." Charlie Everett sighed as he sat down at the kitchen table, his son and other daughter sitting down at either side of him. He invited JJ to also sit down with the family.

"Mr Everett; we need to see if Georgia was targeted for a specific reason. I was wondering if there was anything you or your family could tell me that could aid our investigation?" JJ asked politely and sympathetically.

"Georgia... she was special. You'd never find any other girl like her. She was always an avid reader. Spent half her life reading books, or on the computer! We weren't too shocked when she studied Computer Science at University of Central Florida. She worked in the computer store to put herself through college, she just got a job offer in a software development company..." her father trailed off.

"This is all my fault," the young girl, Georgia's sister sobbed.

"Amanda, how is this your fault?" her brother asked, confused.

"If I hadn't of asked Georgia to get me that book, she wouldn't have walked past that clothing store, and seen that dress. She texted me, telling me she'd found the perfect dress for my twenty-first birthday party. How isn't this my fault Tony?" the young girl broke down in tears. Her younger brother looked at her for a moment, before deciding to hug his sister.

JJ found this more difficult to watch than she had found talking to the Stevens. The Everett family had already lost their mother, the maternal figure of the house. JJ guessed that Georgia had filled that role after their mother's suicide, and really couldn't imagine how that could feel. Some families had the worst luck.

"So your sister going into that store wasn't routine?" JJ asked the distraught family members.

"No," Amanda answered, "she did go in there a few times, but she wasn't much of a shopper. She didn't regularly go in there."

"Okay. Well thank you for your time, you've been very helpful." JJ rose from her seat.

"Please catch that bastard." Tony Everett mumbled, barely audible.

"The team plan on it." JJ said defiantly.

"I'll show you out," Amanda Everett said, rising to her feet. Charlie Everett thanked JJ and let his daughter lead the FBI agent to the door.

The brunette paused as the reached the door, and looked the blonde in the eyes. Blonde meeting blue.

"Please get the person who did this to my sister," the young woman said in a desperate whisper, tucking one of her stray shoulder length curls behind her ears.

"Believe me Amanda, when I say, that this team is filled with determination. No matter what, we plan to catch the person behind this," JJ consoled. She pulled a card out from her bag and handed it to the teenager, who looked at it in surprise. "Call me if you feel like you need someone to talk to. I know you'velost your sister, and it's hard to talk about that kind of thing with your dad or your brother. Give me a call anytime."

Amanda Everett smiled at the agent's kindness, "I will."

Amanda opened the door for the agent who paused for a moment, before speaking in a warning tone, "Amanda - the person who did this to your sister? Is picking the victims at random. Do understand that? I need you, and your friends, to stay safe in the streets at night - and even in public places, and I'm sure your friends must realise the danger they're in after what happened to Georgia."

Amanda nodded, indicating that she understood. Before she really considered what she was doing, she pulled the media Liaison into a hug and cried into her shoulder.

"I don't get why this happened to her..."

JJ paused and hugged the young girl tighter, "Sometimes, as cliché as it sounds, life just isn't fair."

* * *

**Conference Room, The Enclave Suites, International Drive, Orlando, Fl.**

It had been decided on the way to Orlando that the team would stay in a hotel in International Drive, nearby the other crime scenes. The hotel manager had kindly offered them one of the conference rooms to set up the Geographical Profile and the Victomology board.

Reid stared at the pin covered map in front of him and sighed. It was all straight forward really. The UnSubwas staying within the International Drive area, and if there was another victim soon, he'd beta life time supply of coffee that it would be around or nearby International Drive. The question was... where?

"I don't know how that thing makes sense to you. It just looks like a whole lot of dots to me." an unfamiliar female voice said from behind him.

Reid turned around to see a young police officer, around his age, carrying two cups of coffee. She smiled at him before putting one on the table. Reid smiled gratefully and hopped over to the table. He sat down, placed his crutches nearby, and picked up the cup of coffee.

"You been sidelined for the crutches?" the police officer asked, nodding towards the crutches leaning against the table.

"Not sure," Reid replied sighing, "I usually do the Geographical Profile, mobile or not."

"You don't get to go on raids or anything like that?" the police officer asked, her brown eyebrows raised.

"Usually, yes. But right now, I'd be more of a hindrance than a help."

"I'd imagine." the officer chuckled. She opened her mouth as if she was going to ask something else, but quickly shut it again. Reid rolled his eyes. He knew what she was dying to ask.

"You want to know how I got on crutches don't you?" he asked for her.

The officer denied the very idea. "What? That thought hadn't even crossed my mind."

"Do you want to know or not?"

"Hit me."

Reid grinned, and wondered how good his poker face was before saying, "I injured my knee during a dancing competition."

The incredulous look on the young officer's face was priceless. There was a pregnant pause before she slowly asked, "You're... not serious are you?"

Reid chuckled. "No, I'm not. Just testing the water."

The officer giggled. "Wow you had me for a second. I just realised, I rather rudely neglected to introduce myself." She than proceeded to out-stretch her hand towards Reid.

"Police Officer Darcey Miles."

Reid smiled at her before offering his own hand. "SSA Dr. Spencer Reid."

"Wow. That's a mouthful. Anything I can shorten that too?" Officer Miles grinned.

"My friends call me Reid." Reid blushed.

"Mine call me Darcey." the police officer smiled, before entirely draining her cup of coffee.

* * *

_Reviews are love..._


	6. Wanted: UnSub, Part II

_**Summary: **It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:** Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Author's Note: **Just a reminder; this is set pre Cradle to Grave, so Hotch is still the boss-man! Here's part deux! And first off - we are so sorry we neglected thanking our reviewers in the last chapter! (Ava's bad!) So a quick thank you to those who reviewed the last few chapters. Thank you nexis44, the-vampire-act, imajazzbandnerd, Shakuma-Marie-Uchiha and MwandishiMsanii! Although are you guys getting review replies from** both** of us? Because Cara's aren't appearing in the outbox. Just curious. And sorry if some scenes in this are a little short. Some were easier to write than others, naturally. Anyway, read the second part of our super long chapter!_

_x Cara and Ava (i.e The Instincts. Amplified.)_

* * *

**Chapter Five: _Wanted; UnSub, Part II._**

___'Many commit the same crimes with a very different result. One bears a cross for his crime; another a crown.' ~ Juvenal_

**Ivy Stevens Crime Scene, Walgreen Parking Lot, Orlando, Fl.**

"Agent Rossi?" a young police officer asked him as he approached the first crime scene.

"That's me." Rossi replied, sizing up the officer. He was young, younger than Reid even. He looked extremely eager, the way the youngest member of the BAU had when Rossi had first joined. Rossi didn't even need to be a profiler to guess what was coming next.

"Officer Cameron Garvey," the officer said as he outstretched his hand, "big fan of your books Agent Rossi."

Rossi nodded at the young officer and proceeded to the scene. "What do we have?"

Officer Garvey led Rossi to a more secluded area of the pharmacy car park, and pointed to where the first victim had taken her last breath. Garvey needn't have pointed it out to him; even if Orlando had a large rainstorm any day soon, it would never wash away the immense pool of blood found at the site.

"Strange," Rossi commented, "This is very secluded compared to the where the other women were killed. She was killed when?"

"Last Monday; M.E put time of death at approximately 11pm." the eager young officer replied.

"And who discovered the body?"

"An employee going home for the night. He was walking towards his car and almost tripped over her."

"He killed the first victim in quite a secluded area of the parking lot, compared to the other three." Rossi commented. "If he killed her at 11pm it would have been dark. Not much of a challenge for this UnSub..."

"You think this was a blitz attack or do you think he chose her specifically?" Garvey asked, intrigued by the FBI Agent's thoughts.

"A little bit of both." Rossi commented as he left the crime scene. The young officer stood confused for a moment, before regaining his senses and following his idol.

* * *

**The Casey Residence, Orlando, Fl.**

"Mr and Mrs Casey, I'm glad that you were able to find the time to speak to me," JJ said as she sat down on an armchair in the living room of yet another distraught family.

"Anything that will help you catch the man who did this to Cara," Sophie Casey told the media liaison.

"You have to understand that Cara was our only child," Andy Casey added, "We haven't been coping that well."

"That's perfectly understandable," JJ answered promptly. "So that you for taking the time to speak with me, I realise that you've been going through a rough time."

"You have some questions for us about Cara?" Sophie Casey asked, fresh tears trickling down her cheek.

"Just some routine questions ma'am." JJ replied kindly. "We'd just like to know anything about Cara you think may help us with our investigation. How was she getting on in school? Did she have many friends? Perhaps people she didn't see eye to eye with? Did she enjoy work? Anything general about her that could prove to be useful."

"Well..." Andy Casey began before hesitating, "School was a bit difficult for Cara. She was having a hard time with bullies."

"High school is a tough," JJ replied, nodding.

"No," Sophie Casey sobbed, shaking her head, "You don't understand. Cara was HIV positive.

JJ tried not to look too thrown by this latest revelation.

"We didn't even know she was sexually active," Andy Casey choked out.

There was a pregnant pause for a moment before JJ regained her composure.

"You don't think that's why...?" Sophie Casey began to enquire.

"No of course not," JJ responded. "I appreciate you telling me this. I imagine it must have been very difficult. Is there anything else you can think of that could prove useful?"

The distraught parents shook their heads, and stood up out of their seats. JJ followed suit.

"Thank you again Mr and Mrs Casey," JJ said warmly, before shaking each of the grieving parents hands in turn. "If you can think of anything else, no matter how small, please don't hesitate to call." JJ concluded before handing the parents one of her cards.

* * *

**Georgia Everett Crime Scene, Local Orlando Shopping Mall, Orlando, Fl.**

Officer Cameron Garvey led Rossi to the next crime scene, where Morgan was already waiting for them. Rossi introduced Morgan and Garvey to one another before proceeding. They walked into the small confined space where women usually tried on clothing, and where Georgia Everett had spent the last few moments of her life.

Georgia had been killed only several days ago - therefore, the stall was almost exactly as it had been when she was killed. Dark crimson blood pooled the small cubicle and splattered the walls.

"I don't understand," Officer Garvey commented, "If this UnSub killed her while she was surrounded by other women in other stalls, as well as several employees, how did no one hear her scream for help?"

"The UnSub stabbed the victims through the ribcage first," Morgan replied, as he imagined a masked man do that very action to Georgia in his head. "He hit the blood vessels serving the lungs."

"Silencing them and causing massive internal bleeding at the same time. Killing two birds with one stone." Rossi commented, eyebrows raised.

Morgan was disgusted with the boldness the level this UnSub was showing, "If I ever get a hold of this cocky son of a bitch I can't be held responsible for my actions."

* * *

**The Quality Inn, International Drive, Orlando, Fl.**

The warm air hit their faces, a drastic change to the air conditioned room they had just spent the best part of an hour in.

Not even Hotch could deny the consequence of the butterfly.

"How do you confront your boss about something that's going to rub salt into fresh wounds?" Emily muttered pacing in front of the hotel foyet, as she waited for her boss.

Just as they were about to leave, Hotch had bent down to tie his shoe. Emily knew he had an ulterior motive for stalling. Hotch's laces never needed re-tying . Many times she'd wondered if the bow was glued together and he slept with his shoes on.

Sure enough when she returned to the room after realising she had left her badge on the bed, he was sitting on the bed, head in his hands, as he gazed at the deceased teenager before him.

"Hotch?" she called softly.

His head jerked up and he stood quickly.

"Prentiss."

It was a statement, an admission that he couldn't quite explain what he'd been doing.

"Morgan called," she said casually, ignoring the lump of unease in her chest. "Said he was going to meet up with Rossi."

"And?"

Emily walked slowly towards until they were side by side. She looked up at him.

"I said we'd be done soon."

He nodded slowly.

"I'll meet you out front, Hotch." She said, gently touching his arm on her way to the door. Reaching for the handle she glanced back to find the unit chief , slowly pulling the sheet over the young girl, before gently stroking the blonde mane that was still shining slightly.

Emily's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp "Prentiss!

She whipped around to find the man she had been thinking about standing next to the SUV.

"Are you coming or do you want to wear a hole in the sidewalk?"

"It might provide employment," she said smiling sweetly. "Especially in this economic climate."

She watched him hoping to see something that might resemble a smile.

His face remained neutral as he started the engine, but there seemed to be a deep pain in his eyes.

"Hotch -"

"Prentiss, do you know which scene Rossi is currently at?"

"Hold on I'll call him" she said, reaching into her pocket.

Flipping it open she hit the speed dial.

"Hey, Rossi. It's Emily, where's the -. Yeah, wait. You can? That's stalking Rossi, illegal in all fifty states. No, just wave at us then!"

Hotch frowned, confused. "Wave?"

Emily turned towards him, "I'll explain in a sec. no Rossi not you! Ok I see you, we'll be over in a minute. I know, Ok, bye."

"So where are they?" Hotch asked, impatiently.

"Across the road," She said putting her phone back in her pocket.

* * *

**The Crab Shack, International Drive, Orlando, Fl.**

JJ walked into the seafood restaurant half relieved. Lacey Jones' family was the last family she would have to force to grieve their loss all over again. At least, she hoped.

Lacey Jones was the younger of two children. Frankie Jones sat opposite his parents, looking extremely lost. He was a little more than a year older than his sister Lacey, and had also been the one to discover the body of his beloved sister.

"Thank you so much for meeting us here," Nathan Jones mumbled, shaking hands with the blonde FBI agent, "as I'm sure you'd understand, we couldn't bear to be around that damn hotel any longer than necessary."

"That's perfectly understandable, Mr Jones," JJ replied soothingly. "I was wondering if there was any additional information you have about Lacey that could aid our investigation? It may not seem like it but the smallest detail could really help us a lot."

"She just said she was feeling tired," Rebecca Jones replied robotically, her eyes horribly vacant - it was evident there was no longer life behind them. "We gave her the key to her and Frankie's room. We had no idea that we'd never be seeing alive again."

"The last thing I said to her was; 'Fine. Here's the key. Be boring'." Frankie Jones spat out. "I didn't want her to go up to bed. I wanted her to stay below in the restaurant with us." He paused again for a moment before bitterly adding, "I should've gone with her..."

"Frankie, you could never have known. You need to stop blaming yourself," Nathan Jones told his remaining child softly.

"Your father's right Frankie." JJ seconded. "Lacey made her decision, you made yours. Neither of you could have known."

Fifteen-year-old Frankie Jones broke down at that point. The reality of the situation came crashing down on him. He put his head into his hands and sobbed, "Than why do I feel so guilty?"

* * *

**TGI Fridays, International Drive, Orlando, Fl.**

"Hotch, is everything ok?" Prentiss asked nervously as they stepped out of the SUV.

"Why wouldn't everything be ok, Prentiss?" He asked.

"Your trying to turn this around on me, avoiding the question. You should be careful when you do that, you might get an answer you wont like." she replied, stopping in the side walk causing people to have to walk around her.

"Prentiss get out of the way!" Hotch muttered grabbing her arm.

She shook her arm out of his grasp and tugging on his sleeve pulled him into a door way.

"I think everything wouldn't be ok because you aren't over Foyet, no matter how hard you pretend to be, it's eating you up."

Hotchner glared down at her and turned to leave, but was pulled back by the persistent brunette.

"Hotch, I... I saw you looking at Lacey. I've never seen you look like that at a crime scene, what's wrong with you."

"Nothing, I -, come on Dave's waiting."

"And Dave can keep waiting. We aren't going anywhere till you tell me what's wrong."

Was it really worth it, telling her something like that, with the chance of his subordinate thinking he was insane.

"Hotch...."

"She looks so much like her, it's like I've gone back twenty-five years. Her eyes, her hair it's exactly the same colour blonde."

"She who, Hotch? Who looks like Lacey?"

He looked down catching her eyes, his own shining with months of unshed tears.

"Haley."

There was a quiet pause, broken by Emily's ringing cell phone. She flipped it open, not looking away from Hotch. She had a feeling that if she did, the broken man in front of her would shatter, and it would quite possibly be the last time he entrusted her with something as private as that.

"Prentiss. Hey Rossi- no we haven't got lost along the way.... Yes i know we we're just across the road... Dave! I will not tell him that! You can mention it to him, in a minute. Yeah we're walking over to you now. Bye"

She snapped her cell shut.

"Morgan and Rossi are a bad combination. if you thought Morgan had a dirty mind you should hear the joint contributions!"

"Hotch stepped out , running his fingers through his hair, trying to compose himself.

"Ok, Prentiss, lets go."

"Hotch, you know I'm here if you want to talk. Anytime."

He nodded shortly, before turning to give her a slight smile. "Thank you, Emily"

* * *

**The Cara Casey Crime Scene, TGI Fridays, International Drive, Orlando, Fl.**

The bathroom's were red, with the paint barely visible underneath.

"Son of a bitch," Morgan muttered.

"Someone's going to be working overtime to clean this up," Rossi said dryly.

"Where's Hotch and Prentiss? I -" Morgan asked, before being interrupted by Hotch's voice

"They're right here."

"About time, man. We thought you guys were never coming!"

"Aw, Morgan, did you miss me?" Emily asked, pulling on her gloves.

"Whenever your not near, Prentiss." He replied with a grin.

"So what have we got?" Hotch asked walking towards Rossi.

"There's more blood at this scene. The overkill is extreme." the older profiler sighed

"So is stabbing someone sixteen times." Prentiss pointed out.

"There's more blood here, than at the other two scenes. Georgia Everett was stabbed twenty five times, nine times more than Cara." Rossi stated.

"Maybe he hit the main arteries before Cara..." Emily trailed off.

"No, he hit pulmonary arteries and veins on both Cara and Georgia first." Morgan input, remembering what the M.E had told him. "To stop them screaming for help."

"So why is there more blood here?" Hotch asked, frowning.

"There was a struggle," Emily said, sadly. "She fought."

"Defensive wounds." Morgan muttered. Prentiss nodded, standing up.

"Prentiss, I want you to go and talk to the staff that were working the night the body was found, see if they remember anything." Hotch said as she pulled off her gloves.

"Sure. I'll see you back at the hotel."

* * *

Emily never really understood one thing about TGI Fridays; and that was why as well as wearing a uniform, the employees also had to wear a hat of their choice and suspenders. The girl in front of her was wearing the typical red and white striped shirt, black dress pants, black converse, black and white polka dot suspenders, and a black fedora hat with a red band. The various shades of red, black and white was a little much Prentiss thought, and wasn't very easy on the eyes.

Ava Quinn was one of the only staff who was working this early in the day. The young brunette was also the one who had been serving Cara Casey and her family the night of the murder.

"Like I said," the seventeen year old brunette sighed, exasperated, "I didn't really notice she was gone. We got very busy that night, and I was waiting on several tables. I didn't notice that she'd left. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary."

Emily frowned. "A girl you were serving was killed Ms Quinn," she stressed, "You don't seem extremely cut up about it."

Ava uncomfortably fidgeted with her black and white polka dot suspenders, before continuing, "It's not that I don't care Agent Prentiss, it's just I don't want to get sucked into the whole 'It could have been me' thing. I don't want to get into a big depression over it. It made me sad sure, but I think the best thing I can do right now is to carry on living my own life to the full."

Emily nodded at the young woman, and couldn't stop herself from saying, "That's an extremely mature way to look at it. You certainly have the right outlook on life!"

"Glad you think so," Ava replied, tipping her black and red banded fedora hat at the FBI agent. "And if you don't mind Agent Prentiss, my shift is over. Me and my sisters are going to the water park today, so if you don't mind me excusing myself? I really hope you catch your guy before he can hurt another girl."

"We all do, Ms Quinn." Prentiss replied, before adding subconsciously, "Enjoy your family day out."

* * *

_Reviews are love..._


	7. Profilers: Profiling

_**Summary: **__It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Author's Note: **__Just a reminder; this is set pre Cradle to Grave, so Hotch is still the boss-man! Sorry for the delay folks, Cara was having some internet problems! So we couldn't get it organised! Really sorry guys. Hopefully this makes up for it anyway. And it's the last 'casefic' chapter so to speak. Things will really get interesting in the next chapter. Trust us. Thanks to our reviewers: nexis44, Mogo Girl, Dicsi and the-vampire-act! Your reviews fuel us!_

_Cara and Ava (The Instincts. Amplified.)_

* * *

**Chapter Six: _Profilers, Profiling_**

_"Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." -Galatians._

**The Conference Room, The Enclave Suites, Orlando, Fl.**

"Reid - how's the Geographical Profile going?" Hotch asked as he entered the conference room of the hotel they were staying at. Reid had a large map of International Drive and some of the surrounding area pinned on the wall. Next to the map, Reid had already set up a board with their victims on it. The crime scene photos, identification photos and any valid information about the victims.

Reid himself, was standing in front of the map - his crutches supporting him. There was a young, short, brunette female officer standing next to him. Reid had been staring intently at the map, while the officer had been looking at it with an absolutely perplexed expression. Both of them looked at Hotch, however, when he spoke.

"It all seems fairly obvious," Reid sighed, as the young officer raised her eyebrows, "Cara Casey and Lacey Jones were killed literally across the road from each other. Cara Casey worked next door to where Lacey Jones was killed."

"Where did Cara Casey work?" Rossi asked, curious.

"In the coffee shop based in this hotel." Reid answered promptly.

"I've already talked to her employers, they said that Cara was a lovely girl, very polite and helpful. They couldn't think of anybody who would want any harm to come to her." the officer said. The team turned and stared at her and she blushed immediately.

"Ah, guys this is Officer Darcey Miles. She's been helping me with the Geographical Profile and setting up the Victimology board. Officer Miles, this is the team."

"Pleased to meet you," Officer Miles said, blushing.

The team greeted the officer before proceeding.

"Would you have any idea where the next victim...?" Emily asked, cutting off the question as she felt Reid knew what she meant.

"I can't tell you much more, other than the fact that it will be in International Drive." Reid clarified, "or at least in a nearby area."

"But if he knows you guys are here, than won't that scare the UnSub away?" Darcey asked, confused.

"No," Morgan confirmed, "This UnSub is confident. He'll want to kill some one right under our noses. Rub it in our faces; show he's smarter than us."

"His last kills have been in very public places - he wouldn't step down now." Hotchner sighed.

"So... there's no stopping this guy unless we catch him." Darcey said uneasily, and her eyes were drawn to the Victomology board.

Seven pairs of eyes looked at the crime scene photos. At the blood. The gore. The eyes of the victims, open wide in horror. As they looked at the board, they all had the same awful thought - how many more people would have to suffer at the hands of this UnSub before he was caught?

"I think we're ready for the profile now," Hotch sighed, "Officer Miles, contact Detective Devlin and have him and the officers meet us here."

"Will do, Agent Hotchner," Darcey said as she left the room, before adding, "I have to go on patrol anyway. Which sucks, I wanted to see you guys giving the profile. Anyway, it was nice meeting you all."

* * *

**The Conference Room, The Enclave Suites, Orlando, Fl.**

The profilers watched as the police officers filed into the Orlando hotel conference room. As usual, Hotch began giving the profile.

"The UnSub we're looking for is a Caucasian male, in his mid twenties to mid forties."

Reid, who was sitting in a chair near where Hotchner was standing, took over the next part, "We know he is Causisian as he is most likely the same race as his victims."

"We also know that he is male, as most knife crimes of this nature are either revenge from percieved wrongs, or knives are used as a substitute for penetration. Since we have not found any connections between the victims, we assume it is the second option." Prentiss input.

Morgan stepped out from the wall he was leaning against to have his say, "This UnSub is smart. He managed to kill Georgia Everett in the women's changing rooms as she tried on a dress. He killed Cara Casey in the restroom of a restaurant. When you compare this to the first victim, Ivy Stevens, being killed in a car park late at night, it proves something. He's evolving."

"This UnSub is an organised offender. Despite the lack of connection between the victims, we believe that he choose his victims specifically. We need to find out how he choose them. He chooses very low-risk victims, that do not pose a threat to him." Rossi explained.

"He uses power assertive behaviour, he uses agression to gain control of the situation and show that he has the authority in the situation." Reid said from his chair, before Prentiss added, "He gets off on the fact that we can't catch him."

"This UnSub is also a clear example of Anger Excitation Behavior - nothing excites this UnSub more than the suffering his victims suffer. He's a sadist, and won't stop until he's caught." Hotch concluded.

Almost as soon as the team had finished the profile, Rossi noticed officer Miles entering the room, walking up to Detective Devil, and saying something to him which resulted in his facial expression etching into a scowl. Detective Devlin walked up to the team and sighed, Officer Miles not far behind.

"Darcey's just informed me there's been another body found," he sighed.

"You sure it's our guy?" Morgan asked, curiously.

"You thought that him killing Georgia Everett in a women's changing room was bold?" the female officer asked, before continuing, "wait until you see the latest crime scene. It's the most bizarre thing I've ever seen."

* * *

**Wet 'N Wild Water Park, International Drive, Orlando, Fl.**

"He struck right around the corner from us. Right under our noses." Morgan said in disgust.

Just as Reid had predicted, the UnSub had stuck in International Drive again. But this time, in an extremely high profile area.

Wet 'N Wild water park was one of the many tourist attractions within international drive. A water park in a humid area such as Orlando was almost a necessity. A water park provided men, women and children alike a place to have fun. A water park attracted tourists and locals alike.

A water park was the last place the Behavioural Analysis Unit would have expected their next victim to be found.

"I've been a cop going on twenty years," Kenneth Devlin sighed, "and I don't think I've ever seen anything like this."

The BAU and the Orlando Police Department were staring at the latest crime scene, in complete shock. Darcey had been right to describe it as bizarre. Not only had seventeen year old Ava Quinn been murdered in a water park, it hadn't been the changing rooms she had been killed in. Nor in a secluded area.

Unless killing a victim who was _on _one of the rides counted as secluded. The FBI agents and police officers gathered around the pool at the end of the ride known as the Disco H20. Ava had gone on the ride, and ended up murdered. This UnSub was extremely confident.

Prentiss was horrified when she saw the latest victim. Though she wouldn't admit it, it was haunting her a little. She had talked to this girl a little over two hours ago. And now there she was. Lying on a water tube, in her black and white polka dot bikini, lifeless.

"So how could the UnSub have done this?" JJ asked, perplexed.

"This is a two person ride," Darcey explained, "Ava wouldn't have been able to go on it alone. Perhaps the UnSub offered to go on with her? Than before she knew what hit her..."

"But there are lifeguards at the beginning and end of every ride." Rossi pointed out.

"Maybe the UnSub struck when the lifeguards were switching shifts?" Darcey suggested.

"How the hell would he have known that?" Morgan snapped. Darcey blushed furiously and stepped back from Morgan's frustration.

The FBI agents had decided to leave the scene exactly as it was. Therefore, they didn't waste any time rolling up their pants to their knees and stepping into the shallow pool at the ride's end. Prentiss, Morgan, Hotch and Rossi seemed at ease in the water and didn't let them affect their analysis. Reid remained on the dry land, simply observing, while JJ went to take care of the media storm that was gathering outside the park.

"You not going to join us Officer Garvey?" Rossi asked the young police officer, who blushed furiously. He struggled to think of an eloquent response.

"Ah, well, err.... you see. Umm it's just me and water..."

"Say no more," Morgan replied, seeing that Garvey's fear of water wasn't a minor one, "you're in the company of someone who's still afraid of the dark."

"For the last time Morgan - it's perfectly reasonable to be afraid of the dark!"

"For a five year old, maybe," Morgan smirked. Reid's cheek flushed a shade of scarlet.

Darcey smiled kindly at Reid. "I don't think it's weird."

"Hey Princess, I don't see you getting in the water either." Morgan retorted.

Darcey froze for a moment, as if stuck for words, before Emily quipped, "I don't blame her Morgan. Do you know how long it takes a girl to do her hair in the morning?"

"Are we ever going to get around to doing our job?" Rossi sighed.

Morgan immediately snapped into action, "Officer Miles was right, this is our guy. Stabbed seventeen times, but this time all in the abdomen."

"Maybe it was too difficult to go for her ribcage?" Officer Garvey suggested.

"I think it's more than that," Darcey replied, "Why would he need to stop her screaming? She's on a water slide, with a steep enough drop. Most people scream on thrill rides regardless of whether they're scared or not."

"Who discovered the body?" Hotch asked, speaking for the first time.

"Lifeguard on duty," Darcey replied, "She arrived to relieve a lifeguard of his shift and found the body instead."

"Rossi can you go interview the lifeguard? Reid; call Garcia and have her check the security cameras to see if we can get a visual of the UnSub. Prentiss, Morgan you head back to the hotel while we finish up here."

Reid proceeded with whipping out his cell phone and keying in one of the most called numbers.

"Empress of all knowledge, you may speak!" Garcia quipped as she answered her ever-ringing phone.

"Hey it's me. I need you to try and find some footage please." Reid quickly said on the other end.

"About time! I thought you guys were gonna do this with out the help of a technical goddess and put me out of a job!"

"Thats not going to happen any time soon, Garcia."

"Aw, Reid, your sweet. Keep this up and I might forgive you for insulting our time together."

"I already told you I-"

Garcia cut him off, giggling, "Whatcha need?

"Security footage from the entance of the Wet 'N Wild Water Park, could you try and get one of the rides, too?"

"Ha you think I need to try, that's cute! What ride?"

"The Disco H20?"

"Ah that ride sounds like a party... Coming to you in five, four, three, two, Bing!"

"Thanks Garcia."

"Anytime! No, seriously anytime. I got's bills to pay, my junior G-man. Keep me in a job, try not to solve it all by yourself. Remember to share!"

"I'll try, thank you."

"Garcia out!"

* * *

**En-route to the Enclave Suites, International Drive, Orlando, Fl.**

"Prentiss, you haven't said anything for the past ten minutes." Morgan said glancing at the woman beside him.

"You usually beg me to shut up." Emily said quietly staring out the window.

"Nuh uh, not fair. Morgan said frowning. "You know that if I ever say that I'm joking. What's eating you up?"

"Can we hurry up please? I just want to get back." she sighed not meeting his dark eyes.

"Sure." he replied changing gear. He pulled up at the curb. Emily turned to him annoyed.

"This isn't the hotel Morgan."

"What's up with you, you don't seem yourself."

"Can we just get back to the hotel please?" Prentiss asked, forcing herself to be calm.

"I fancy a heart to heart don't you?" Morgan asked shifting in his seat to face her.

"This is stupid," Emily snarled, reaching for the handle, "I'll walk."

Morgan grabbed her arm, gently pulling her back.

"Hey hey hey. Talk to me."

Emily flopped back in to her seat and closed her eyes, Morgan's hand still on her arm.

"You know the last victim? Ava?"

"Yeah?"

"I talked to her, not even three hours ago."

"What? How'd you-?"

"I interviewed her. She was one of the staff working in TGI Friday's the night Cara Casey was found. She was going to the water park with her sisters. They were going to spend the day there. Instead she gets murdered on her favourite ride."

"Prentiss he's arrogant. Killing her in a public place just-"

"Proves how good he is?"

"This isn't your fault Prentiss, you got that?"

"We're profilers Morgan. We should have known. I should've known...

"Yeah we are profilers, but we're not psychics. You're not responsible for what this son of a bitch did, ok?" Morgan said looking into Emily's tear-filled eyes. She looked up slowly, before sighing and looking down again.

"Ok?" he repeated.

She smiled a small watery smile, "Ok, if you say so."

"Oh I do say so." he replied, poking her in the ribs.

She giggled a little. He nodded, finally satisfied. Starting the engine, he pulled out from the curb, as Emily looked out the window again, wiping away her unshed tears.

"Morgan?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

* * *

**The Conference Room, The Enclave Suites, Orlando, Fl.**

"This is hopeless." Officer Garvey groaned in frustration, "There's nothing to connect these victims. Nothing in the family backgrounds hold! Cara Casey and Ivy Stevens are only children, Lacey Jones had an older brother, Georgia Everett is the eldest of three and Ava Quinn is the middle kid of five girls."

"We do have some connections." Reid commented, looking at the board closely. "Ivy Stevens was a lifeguard at the water park where Ava Quinn was killed. Ava Quinn was a waitress at the TGI Friday's where Cara Casey was killed. Cara Casey worked in a coffee shop in this hotel, which is right next to the one in which Lacey Jones was killed. It's possible that the UnSub saw the victims at these locations before choosing them."

"It's certainly true for Ava Quinn," Darcey agreed, "Ava's twin sister Demi Quinn said that Ava loved water and that their family outings to the water park was quite a regular thing."

"But why choose Ava?" Morgan questioned, "She was the middle of the family. We have two older sisters. Simone Quinn, twenty-three. The same age as Ivy Stevens. Thalia Quinn, twenty years old. Ava was next, at seventeen. Ava has a twin sister, Demi Quinn. Than last but not least, we have Vanessa Quinn. Say I'm the UnSub. I'd rather go for Vanessa Quinn, seeing as I didn't get my fourteen stabs to Lacey Jones."

"But the UnSub was more in contact with Ava," Prentiss pointed out, "She was working the night that Cara Casey was murdered."

"But she and Demi are almost identical twins," Officer Garvey pointed out, "how did the UnSub know she was Ava and not Demi?"

"But the bigger question remains," Rossi argued, "How exactly did the UnSub get on that ride alone with Ava?"

The team and the two cops had been throwing ideas around for hours. It had been over six hours since Ava Quinn's body had been discovered, and they had been working non-stop to try and figure out the UnSub's identity. They had decided that Victimology was extremely important in this case, and they would just have to discover the link between victims, or the motivation behind choosing those particular victims. Garcia had been absolutely distraught to discover that the security camera watching the get-on point of the Disco H20 had been sabotaged just before Ava had gone on the ride. Their only lead was dead.

It was now nearing eleven o'clock and the team had been on the go for almost twenty four hours, still running on a few hours sleep on the jet. Aaron Hotchner understood this team's determination, but he knew that they needed some down time, before they all went insane from 'all work and no play'. Rossi seemed to understand also, as he looked at Hotch, right before asking the eager young officer next to him, "Officer Garvey, you know anywhere good to get something to eat around here?"

"Well," he began smiling, "there is a good steakhouse not too far from here..."

"I like the sound of that," Morgan grinned.

"I think you all deserve a break for now," Hotch input, "and we could always discuss the case in a different environment for the time being."

"Just the six of us Hotch?" Morgan prompted.

"I think since Officer Garvey knows where to go, he also has an invite?" Rossi replied. Officer Garvey smiled at the gesture.

"Officer Miles -"

"Darcey," she corrected immediately.

"Well then Darcey," Morgan continued, before throwing a quick wink at Reid, "how'd you like to join us profilers for a meal?"

Darcey looked unsure for a moment, torn the way a teenager would look when they want to do something, but unsure would they be allowed. After a moment a grin spread across her face and she answered, "I'd love to."

* * *

_Reviews are love..._


	8. Case: Complicated

_**Summary:** It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Author's Note: **__Just a reminder; this is set pre Cradle to Grave, so Hotch is still the boss-man! This where those of a nervous disposition will be stepping off. Nothing too bad in this chapter, but our reign of pure and total evil begins here. No team member is safe, or will be safe in our hands. And not just team members. But pretty much every character. This is the chapter that shall be explaining the prologue, but we are by no means finished. Thanks to our reviewers to the last chapter as usual. the-vampire-act, nexis44, paper . creations and Dicsi , hope you guys continue to enjoy this story! Also, we **so** had all these plans for the story before we saw the promo for 100!_

_Cara and Ava (The Instincts. Amplified)_

* * *

**Chapter Seven - **_**Case; Complicated**_

_Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote; 'Great hearts steadily send forth the secret forces that incessantly draw great events.'_

"So then he says, 'I told you to go down stairs!'" Morgan concluded while the other diners at the table chuckled. Reid's face flushed.

"I had everything perfectly under control..." Reid paused before adding. "Or at least I thought I did before he pressed the button."

The team and the two cops laughed. They were enjoying letting their hair down after the last stressful twenty-four hours. They had enjoyed telling stories from past cases over the diner table.

"You guys have way more exciting cases than we do," Officer Garvey sighed, "The only exciting thing that I've ever done since I joined the force was a fight with a hobo."

Darcey almost choked on the Sprite she was sipping. "I remember that! You were trying to help that man and he accused you of...what was it?"

"Stepping on his box," Officer Garvey sighed, "Than he got VERY racist and I got defensive and angry, got a few punches in and gave him a black eye."

"Cameron?" Darcey asked her fellow officer sweetly, "Was that before or after I built my time machine? I thought for some strange reason you got your nose broken?"

Cameron groaned. "Urgh, Darcey I forgot you were there."

The team laughed.

"Certainly sounds like you guys had your hands full," Morgan smirked has he chewed on his steak.

"Pretty much," Darcey replied, before adding, "You can understand why we had difficulty with this case when the most excitement the two of us have had was a hobo fight." Cameron gave her a strange look once she'd said that.

"I used to see all that action my first year of being a cop," Morgan replied, "I know the drill."

"You guys might be better off," Emily sighed, "We've seen a lot of stuff that most people wouldn't believe. And not to mention the threat we've heard many a time of the team's health insurance being increased."

"Do you guys get in danger a lot than?" Cameron asked eagerly, looking forward to another exciting story.

"You wouldn't believe it," Rossi replied, "Since I've been on the team alone, I couldn't believe how many times these people get themselves into trouble that I've had to talk them out of..."

"When had that ever happened?" Emily asked indignantly. Rossi looked at her with raised eyebrows before she remembered his negotiation skills saving her and Reid's asses in Colorado.

"I think most people on this team has been held hostage at least once," JJ replied.

"I haven't," Morgan said proudly.

"You've only had to drive an ambulance detonated to explode," Rossi said dryly, "That's not that dangerous."

Morgan rolled his eyes. "Still doesn't count as being held hostage, and last time I checked, I was not in the damn thing when it blew up."

"So wait," Darcey paused, "You were bitching about Reid almost blowing himself up, and yet you decide to drive an ambulance about to go ka-boom? That's called hypocrisy Agent Morgan."

The rest of the table chuckled as Morgan scowled.

The positive atmosphere was cut by the Unit Chief's cell phone ringing. The others looked at him in anticipation.

"Hotchner," he greeted. There was a slight pause before he replied, "how is that possible?.... We'll be right there."

The team and the two cops knew they were going to hear the words they dreaded to hear.

"We have another victim."

* * *

The short grass was dyed a harsh red. The blades of the windmill tinted pink.

"Pretty gruesome, if you ask me," the officer said, as he lead the team over to the corded off area of the Pitch and Putt course.

"Someone really does not like family fun time" Morgan sighed as he crouched next to the body of the young girl.

"Evangeline Dillion." JJ informed them quietly, "Here with her three friends. They had no lectures today, so decided to come here. They thought she'd gone to get something to eat...until they got to this part of the course. They've all given statements, unless you guys want to talk to them...."

Reid looked to the rest of the team. "I think, we're ok JJ. They've been through enough today."

"There doesn't seem to be any signs of a struggle" Rossi noted.

"Maybe she knew the UnSub." Morgan suggested.

"Could have used a disguise." Hotch add in, as he studied the scene.

"Urgh, an UnSub that uses a disguise to lure his victims. Kind of reminds me of the Reaper." Prentiss moaned before she could help it. The rest of the team shot her a warning look while Hotch pretended to ignore her.

Another police officer came over to the team and asked in a shaky voice, "Is one of you an Agent Aaron Hotchner?"

"I'm Agent Hotchner," Hotch replied, assuming they wanted to speak for the Unit Chief about the latest body.

"Can we talk to you alone for a moment sir?" he asked, and led Hotch away from the crime scene.

Morgan looked at Reid for a moment, who was lost in his thoughts.

"You okay kid?" Morgan asked, "You look like if you think any harder, you'll have a seizure or something."

Reid turned to Morgan, his standard 'I-think-I-may-have-figured-this-all-out-but I-am-not-totally-sure' face on. Morgan grinned.

"She's right." Reid stated.

Morgan looked at him surprised, before Reid clarified "Emily."

"About what?" she asked, hearing her name.

"Think about it. As soon as we arrived, two more victims appeared from nowhere? The M.O? The victims? And look at our profile!" Reid said, getting more excited at solving this case by the minute, "It fits Foyet completely! This has to be down to him!"

Morgan looked at Reid, and before he could say anything Darcey interrupted him.

"The Boston Reaper?" she asked, in doubt, "Say it was down to him. Why on earth would he have moved from Boston to Orlando?"

Reid was a little deflated, but sure of his theory, "I'm sure he had good reason..." he trailed off.

Hotch came back to join the team, looking like a ghost.

"Hotch?" Prentiss asked, concerned.

"It can't be..." he whispered as he sat down in shock.

"What is it Aaron?" Rossi asked, quietly.

Hotch paused before saying, "Haley never came home from work."

The team looked at each other, a mixture of shock and confusion on their faces. This was soon replaced with horror when Hotch added,

"It turns out they were in witness protection here in Orlando."

* * *

"Thought any more about the wedding?" Will asked,

"I'm going to ask Reid what month serial killers are least likely to attack." JJ said. smiling.

"Some brides plan their weddings around the weather, mine plans it around peak killing season!" Will chuckled. "When do you think you'll catch this guy?"

She sighed." Oh, honey. I don't know. It's a bad one."

"If your not careful I'm going to whisk you away to Vegas and have Elvis marry us!" Will threatened.

"That sounds perfect." the blonde woman sighed, closing her eyes at the thought.

"Henry's been missing you. We both have."

She slowly twisted her ring around her finger, gazing at her son's birthstone.

"I miss you guys too."

"You, Agent Jareau had better get some sleep. You have a bad guy to catch. A little motavation for you: the sooner you catch him, the sooner-"

"- I come home. You say that every case, Will."

"And it seems to be working, you get them all in the end. Now," he said briskly. "Bed!"

"Fine! God your so bossy." she teased.

"Come home safe, Darlin'."

"Tell Henry I said goodnight, and I love him."

"Goodnight, JJ"

"Will?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you." she said before hanging up the phone.

* * *

The moonlight shone on the water, the reflection almost hypnotic.

_How? Why?_

Is pacing became quicker as his anger and frustration grew. He growled, tears filling his dark eyes, as he thought of Haley, his sweet Haley. _Why her?_ and Jack, where was his son?

"Hotch?" a soft voice called.

He spun around to find Emily Prentiss standing in the shadow of the doorway, her hair carelessly thrown up, looking confused.

"What are you doing here? It's late."

"I could say the same thing to you," he replied, trying to keep his tone neutral.

She smiled slightly, slipping off her shoes as she walked towards the edge of the pool. She threw her head back and looked up at the blackness, at the large orb that was lighting the silent pool.

"The moon, it's so big tonight, so bright and so clear." she turned to face her boss,

Her eyes full of sadness. She blinked and it was gone, leaving him wondering if it was a trick of the light.

"You want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about?" he asked sitting down carefully, his feet inches above the water.

"Gee, Hotch, I don't know," Emily replied, sarcastically. "You could take your pick from today's events, or we could go back further if you want."

"Emily-"

"Please, I don't care, just talk. Stop bottling things up and talk."

She plopped down next to her boss and waited.

He knew there was no deterring her, she was a woman on a mission.

He muttered under his breath, so quietly she could only catch a few words

"Damn.... Stubborn.... me talk...."

She chuckled quietly. "You done grumbling yet?"

"Annoying agent" he said more clearly, glancing in her direction with a slight grin. He paused.

"Yeah, I'm done for now."

"You mean there could be more? Oh joy!"

"Watch it, Prentiss." he warned, completly ruining the "serious boss" approach, by kicking the water so it splashed over her bare feet.

"Rossi was right," she mused. "You are great at distracting people away from their original objective."

"I guess it wouldn't be fair if he was wrong about _everything,_" Hotch reasoned, biting back a smile.

Emily gasped in mock horror. "That's two thing's he was right about. You are great at distracting people and..... you're a closet meany!" she said with a returning the splash.

"A closet meany? That came from Dave?"

"Well, no. I put it more eloquently, his way was more colourful."

"That sounds more like him."

He ducked his head, swinging his legs through the warm water.

"Hotch-"

"I promised to protect her. and now she's gone."

"They were in witness protection, Hotch. It doesn't really get much safer then that. you did everything you could to keep them safe-"

"And it obviously wasn't enough!" he exclaimed furiously, getting to his feet.

"That isn't you fault! Your just looking for someone to blame-"

"_There isn't anyone else _to_ blame, Prentiss."_ he snarled, his voice dangerously low.

Her fight or flight instincts were kicking in, but she refused to break eye contact, staring him down instead. He turned to leave. He could hear her say something, but he kept walking

"You've got to stop this, Aaron." she called.

He whiped around, raising an eyebrow. "Excuse me."

"Only way I could get your attention, Hotch." she explained walking towards him. "I'm serious. I'm only trying to help. But you push away anyone that tries."

"Emily -"

"I'm here for you Hotch, we all are. Just trust us."

He sat in one of the sun loungers, burying his head in his hands, shoulders shaking.

"Jack, I missed his birthday, Emily. What if it ends up being his last birthday... and I missed it?"

"We'll find them," She said determinedly, crouching down next to him. She reached out her hand, which after a moments silence, he took, holding it tightly, like a drowning man to a buoy.

He took a moment to compose himself.

"I'm sorry about that, Prentiss. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

She smiled, "Maybe we could ask to borrow Darcey's time machine."

Hotch chuckled, "And if not?"

"I'll think of some way you can make it up to me." Emily replied with a smile that made her eyes sparkle. "Like I said, I'm always here for you, Hotch."

"Thank you, again."

Hotchner cleared his throat and stood.

"You never did tell me why you're down here."

"Oh, me and JJ were going to go swimming." Prentiss frowned. "You didn't see her on your way down did you, Hotch?"

"No." he replied, "Maybe she went to bed early. She could have called your room to let you know. You've been with me so..."

"I guess," Emily replied, still uneasy as they walk back into the quiet hotel.

* * *

Hotch took off his ever-used tie and threw it on the bed in frustration. He wondered in vain how they couldn't have seen the signs sooner. While OPD had been working the case, there had been four deaths over a period of ten days. Since the BAU had arrived, there had been two more in under twenty-four hours. Foyet had been luring them there.

The question was: how? Foyet's face was plastered everywhere. If he had approached the victims, they should have recognised him instantly. Although some of the victims were parts of Blitz Attacks, which wasn't the Reaper's style. The other idea was that the Reaper had an accomplice, which wasn't the way he operated either.

Were Reid and the team's suspicions correct? While they had come up with the theory, Hotchner had been told that Haley had not returned from work that evening. That did seem like a little bit much to be a coincidence. And it would have certainly explained why Foyet had migrated to Orlando...

The phone in his hotel room's shrill ringing snapped him out of his thoughts. He panicked for a moment, his instincts taking over. He remembered the last time that someone had rang his hotel room, and the consequences. He hesitantly answered the phone...

"Hello Aaron," a familiar voice on the other line said. Hotch's blood ran cold.

"Foyet," Hotch replied, trying to keep all emotion out of his voice.

"I guess you must know by now that your pretty wife is missing," he responded easily. Hotch could almost hear him smiling at the other end of the line.

"If you hurt her I swear-" Hotch began, before Foyet cut him off.

"There is absolutely no reason for her to be hurt," Foyet said before adding, "If you make the right decision."

"What 'decision'?" Hotch asked in disgust.

"The one that caused fights through all of your marriage. Your wife..." Foyet paused, but Hotch knew what was coming next, "Or your team."

Hotch laughed a little ruefully, "I'd like to see you try and lay a hand on my team!"

Foyet laughed even louder than Hotch, and it made Hotch a little uneasy. "Is that a dare, Agent Hotchner?"

Hotch didn't know how to respond to that, when he heard Foyet say to someone on the other end of the line, "Talk to your boss there sweetie."

Hotch froze for a moment before he heard a familiar voice on the Foyet's end, "Hotch - I'm so sorry!" the panicked voice said, "I didn't even know what was happening. It all happened -"

"That's enough I think," Foyet interrupted.

"Don't you dare hurt either of them."

"You like your blondes don't you Aaron? Shame you have to pick to kill one of them now. Choose." Foyet's conversational tone made it even harder to listen to.

It was one of the hardest decisions he'd ever had to make in his entire life. It brought back memories of when a colleague of his had been in a similar situation.

But this was different. Reversed. He knew what ever he said, in some way, blood would be spilt.

"Choose." the cruel voice said once again.

"You know I can't." he replied.

"How about I make the decision for you?"

The line was filled with one woman screaming, and another yelling for their captor to stop. His heart filled with dread, when only sobbing remained.

"One down, one to go."

The line went dead.

* * *

_And here we are, back to the prologue. And as usual, reviews are love._


	9. Missing: Agents

_**Summary: **It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Author's Note:**Just a reminder; this is set pre Cradle to Grave so Hotch is still the boss-man! This where those of a nervous disposition will be stepping off. Nothing too bad in this chapter, but our reign of pure and total evil begins here. No team member is safe, or will be safe in our hands. And not just team members. But pretty much every character. Thanks to Disci, nexis44, paper . creations, didi2909, Nymphadora-CullenBAU and the-vampire-act for reviewing! Hopefully you guys won't be too turned away by our ultimate evilness...Ah well, enjoy._

_Cara and Ava (The Instincts. Amplified.)_

* * *

**Chapter Eight - _Missing; Agents_**

_'As a rule, what is out of sight disturbs men's minds more than what they see.' ~ Julius Caesar._

The phone slipped out of his hand.

_No, this can't be real._

He collapsed into a nearby chair, dazed, until the agent in him took over. He picked up the dangling receiver, and punched in the phone number for JJ's room.

It kept ringing.

His breath caught in his chest. Closing his eyes, he dialled a number that was all to familiar.

"Get Morgan and Reid, we have a problem."

* * *

"Hotch, it's half two in the morning, can't this wait?" Morgan yawned.

Emily burst in, tying up her hair as she hurried to the bed.

"Sorry guys. Hotch what's up? It sounded urgent."

"He…he's taken her."

"Taken who? Who's taken who?" Rossi asked urgently.

"Foyet… he… took Haley and -"

Emily sat on the bed next to him. "Hotch, we already figured that out." she said gently.

He shook his head, taking a deep breath.

"No, He took Haley….. And JJ."

"What?!"

"Son of a bitch!"

"No."

"Why are we just sitting around? JJ's out there somewhere!" Reid said struggling to get up.

"Hotch, how can you be sure?" Rossi asked, looking shell-shocked.

"I got a call. From the Reaper." he stood up. He felt ashamed that he couldn't face his team, when they needed each other most. He walked to the window, his back to the silent group.

"I spoke to her, it was defiantly JJ."

He didn't mention how terrified she sounded, that was something they didn't need to know.

"What did he say?" Rossi asked, forcing himself to remain calm, rational.

Should I tell them? Could they deal with the possibilities? Can I?

"He told me to choose between them."

"For what?" Prentiss asked her voice breaking.

"He told me to choose one to die."

There was a loud intake of breath, the atmosphere of the room changing immediately. Fear, regret, anger.

"Son of a bitch!" Morgan muttered again, kicking the bed.

"Who did you choose?" Reid asked quietly.

Hotchner turned around but refused to look at his team.

"I didn't."

"So she's ok?"

"Don't be naïve, Prentiss! This is the Reaper we're talking about." Morgan frowned. "What else did he say?"

_You do like your blondes don't you....._

"Just come out and say it Hotch. We're all grown ups here."

Emily looked up at him her eyes shining, not like they were by the pool, this time they were shining with tears, not laughter or happiness.

"Please," she whispered. " We have to know."

"He - killed one of them. I don't know who."

_One down, one to go...._

Prentiss covered her mouth, closing her eyes, her shoulders shaking.

Morgan sat next to her and pulled her into a hug. She clung to his t-shirt, as she took slow, steady breaths, trying to control herself.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Rossi asked as he watched the sobbing woman.

"I called Garcia. She's on her way to Quantico now."

"Does she know?" Morgan asked, concern in his voice.

"She knows something's wrong, she just doesn't know what." Hotch sighed.

As if on cue Hotch's cell rang. He picked it up, heart pounding.

"Ok, Boss-man your going to tell me why I'm at work at such an obscene hour, and you're going to tell me now!"

"Baby girl, sshh! Please bear in mind none of us have had any coffee yet, we can't handle loud right now"

"Garcia, I need you to track a call for me please."

"Sure, give me a sec."

"It's the last call to my hotel room."

"Hold on. Ok, Sorry, Hotch no can do. Disposable cell."

"Well can you track it's location?" Rossi intervened.

"Doubt it, I could try though. I'll keep you posted."

"Thanks, Garcia."

"Oh, and guys? Don't think your off the hook. I still wanna know what's on. God help who ever picks up my next call."

The line went dead.

"We need to call Detective Devlin, tell him what's going on," Rossi sighed as he sat down on one of the chairs.

Hotch answered quickly, "That's a good idea. And I will have an officer assigned to protect each of you. I will not leave anyone else pay for my mistakes." He turned around and quickly left the room.

* * *

Reid was going to kill Morgan. All he did since the protection detail was assigned was smirk at Reid. Reid was almost certain that it had been Morgan's doing to have Darcey assigned to him. Maybe it was the expectant look he gave him beforehand, or the wink when Hotch had announced it, but Reid knew it had to be down to Morgan.

It could've been worse. Morgan could've made sure he got paired with Darcey in order to hint to her.

Reid was snapped out of his thoughts when a fresh cup of coffee was placed in front of his nose.

"Thought you guys could use a pick-me-up." Darcey mumbled quietly. Darcey, Reid, Prentiss and Officer Garvey, who had been assigned protection detail to Prentiss, were still in the conference room, sitting quietly. Reid had been trying to get a precise location of where the Reaper could be based, but gave up in frustration. The two agents and two police officers had since been throwing ideas around at how the Reaper had found JJ. They weren't having much luck thus far.

Darcey pushed another cup of coffee in front of Prentiss, who wrinkled her nose at the sight of it.

"No offense Darcey, but the last one tasted a little off." Emily said apologetically. Darcey looked a little dejected, but said nothing.

"I thought it was fine, Darcey," Cameron stated before quickly gulping some of the fresh cup in front of him down to emphasise his point. Despite the fact that it scalded his throat as he did so.

They sat in silence for a few moments. Emily put her head in her hands before crying in frustration, "I hate this! The not knowing!"

"Agent Prentiss, it'll be okay." Officer Garvey tried.

"Cameron, don't." Darcey warned quietly.

"How do you know it'll be okay?" Emily asked Cameron a little coldly.

"I know when you hear things like this you assume the worst, but for all you know, this Foyet could be bluffing." Garvey replied.

"Foyet doesn't do bluffing." Emily snapped irritably.

Cameron stayed quiet for a moment before quietly saying, "It couldn't hurt to keep a little fate."

"I'm sorry Officer Garvey, but you did say the most in danger any of your team has been in was a hobo fight. What would you know about being in this sort of situation?"

"I said the most in danger I was in was a hobo fight. I told a little white lie. Trust me, not too long ago I had to wait in a hospital corridor to see if a colleague of mine had made it through surgery after being attacked while on the beat."

There was a brief pause before Emily sighed, and said, "I'm sorry Officer Garvey. I'm just really... worried. For my team member. JJ..."

"That's understandable," Garvey replied.

"And come to think of it, I have a bit of a migraine..." she muttered, trailing off, her head returning to resting on her hands.

There was another period of silence before Reid let out a short laugh. The other three looked at him, perplexed.

"What is it?" Darcey asked him, curious.

"I was just thinking, I'm not used to this. The waiting around and worrying." Reid replied.

"Why not?"

Reid shot Prentiss a half-attempted smile before continuing, "Usually when a BAU member gets kidnapped or held hostage, for some obscure reason, I'm always at the top of the list."

Despite herself, Prentiss forgot the situation for a moment and left herself crack a smile.

Hotch, Morgan and Rossi walked briskly into the room, and all traces of small smiles abruptly vanished.

"There's no evidence of a struggle in JJ's room. She wasn't taken from there." Rossi stated as he stood at the opposite end of the table from those sitting around it.

Emily stood up for a moment, about to add to the conversation, but found herself collapsing back down. Morgan looked at her in concern.

"You okay Prentiss?" he asked worriedly.

"Fine, just a little tired a guess. We haven't gotten much sleep since we've been here." Emily replied, and involuntarily yawning as she did so.

"Officer Garvey, take Agent Prentiss to her room. Immediately. Prentiss, have a rest but be back here in an hour. No more. You understand?" Hotch ordered.

"Yes sir," Prentiss responded tiredly, before leaning into Officer Garvey for support as he took her back to her hotel room. She was too tired to even think of any witty remark.

* * *

They stared at map, hoping something might have changed since they last blinked.

Sighing, Morgan played with his pen, glad of the simple distraction.

Reid shifted his weight slightly from one leg to the other, staring at the pictures of their young victims.

_Simple distractions from the problems, we never thought we'd face..._Hotch sighed rubbing his weary eyes.

Rossi glanced at his watch. Hotchner noticed the movement from the corner of his eye and it reminded him of the agent upstairs.

"Officer Miles can you go get Agent Prentiss? She should be up in her room." Hotch asked, and the young officer quickly left the room.

"So how does Foyet manage to take JJ?" Morgan thought aloud for the hundredth time.

"He somehow discovered what hotel we were staying at, or she left the hotel for something." Reid suggested.

"But we know now why the Reaper is in Orlando of all places." Morgan sighed, stealing a quick glance at Hotch.

Morgan's cell phone rang, and he quickly put it on loud speaker, "Baby-girl, you better give me some good news."

"You guys are really starting to freak me out. Not only did you guys have me come in here and such an unreasonable hour, but I've been sent several pictures via email of what looks like a body. Only the face isn't clear." Garcia replied, her voice quivering slightly.

There was a slight pause before Rossi had the courage to ask, "What did the body look like?"

Garcia luckily didn't sense anything off. "Like I said, the face isn't very clear. Being covered by blonde hair. Well, more strawberry blonde with all the icky, icky blood."

Morgan tried to keep all worry out of his voice as he asked, "Can you send us a copy baby-girl."

"I guess I could my knight, but it'll come at a hefty-"

Garcia's last statement was cut off by a dishevelled Officer Darcey Miles rushing back into the Conference room. Her previously spotless police uniform was now covered in blood. Her mascara was running down her face. She was crying.

"Darcey!" Reid called and rushed over to her. She wrapped her arms around him, repeating, "He's dead, he's dead, I can't believe it!" under her breath. Reid tried to ignore Morgan's raised eyebrows in his direction.

"Officer Miles." Rossi called. When she continued muttering under her breath, he tried again. "Officer Miles!" he called, louder and clearer.

Darcey let go of Reid for a moment and looked at Rossi with blue, blood-shot eyes.

"What happened?" Morgan asked.

"I... I went to get Agent Prentiss. Like you said, Agent Hotchner." Darcey said, nodding at Hotchner. She continued, "And... I... I got to Agent Prentiss' room. And Cameron was outside it..."

"Officer Garvey was assigned to protect Agent Prentiss," Rossi interrupted, a little surprised that Darcey was upset about Officer Garvey being outside Prentiss' room. It seemed like a trivial thing among all the other things they were dealing with.

"No," she sobbed, "You don't understand. Cameron.. he..." she paused, before gaining a little composure to say, "he was dead. Outside of Agent Prentiss' door. He'd been slaughtered. Quick and efficient. A long slice across his neck, two on each arm and leg. Nine in total."

The four men froze before Hotch had the guts to slowly ask, "And Agent Prentiss?"

The young female police officer slowly shock her head, "I checked her room. She's vanished."

Five audible gasps reminded the profilers that Garcia was still on loudspeaker.

* * *

Her head was pounding worse than the morning after the team had finished a case in Vegas. She groaned, trying to sit up.

"Emily?" called a terrified voice softly.

She opened one eye bracing herself for the bright light. Instead she was met by a dimly lit, windowless room.

"Emily?" the voice was becoming more hysterical.

She sighed, and tried moving towards the woman, but her muscles ached and, she discovered, her hands were bound.

"Well, this really sucks." she thought, as she crawled awkwardly to the corner.

"No! He got you too?" the blonde woman sobbed.

"That's why I'm here! Where is here?"

"You don't know, I was counting on you guys knowing!"

"Sorry, to disappoint. We only found out you were missing about half three this morning, we hadn't quite got locations yet!" she grumbled, plopping down next to the bruised bundle.

"Oh my.....! What the hell is that?!" she exclaimed, unable to take her eyes off the body thrown in the corner.

"My little friend." replied a voice behind her, "Shame your boss is indecisive, she may have lived."

"You bastard!" she screamed tears filling her eyes. "She had a son!"

"Maybe Agent Hotchner will make a choice next time."

"What do you mean "Next time"? Answer me you coward!"

The question was answered by the door slaming shut, his cruel laughter ringing around the room.

"Emily?"

Prentiss closed her eyes, and leaned against the wall.

"Yeah?"

"You think they'll find us?"

Tears trickled from beneath her closed lids. "I really hope so."_

* * *

_

_Things are going from bad to worse for our favourite team... and don't forget reviews are love..._


	10. Bad: Worse

_**Summary:** __It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Author's Note: **__Just a reminder; this is set pre Cradle to Grave, so Hotch is still the boss-man! This where those of a nervous disposition will be stepping off. Nothing too bad in this chapter, but our reign of pure and total evil begins here. No team member is safe, or will be safe in our hands. And not just team members. But pretty much every character. Thanks for the major response from the last chapter, our reviewers! Thank you Dicsi, nexis44, imajazzbandnerd, RodentOfUnusualSize, paper . creations, the-vampire-act, hxchick and Nymphadora-CullenBAU for reviewing, almost all of which are very loyal reviewers! Thanks so much for the encouragement guys. Hence the quick update! And the strike today, which resulted in no school, helped too. Anyways, you all will hate our guts after this chapter. Seriously. And it will be getting worse.. You guys were warned!_

_Cara and Ava (The Instincts. Amplified)_

* * *

**Chapter Nine - **_**Bad; Worse**_

_Mignon McLaughlin once said; __"The best work is done with the heart breaking, or overflowing" _

They stared down at the body of the man they barely knew. The M.E's carefully zipped up the bag before carefully carrying him away.

Morgan paced up and down the hall, obviously aggravated "I can't believe this son of a bitch! First Haley and JJ, now Prentiss, with Garvey -" he paused, " with Garvey dead."

Rossi gruffly cleared his throat before walking into Emily's abandoned room, Hotch not far behind.

"I can't handle this right now," Morgan admitted, "at least not without a bucket of coffee. You want some Reid? Who am I kidding, you always want coffee. Tell Hotch I'll be back in a sec" he called walking to the elevator

"You really think going alone is a good idea?"

"Damn it Reid, I'm just going for some coffee!"

"And Emily came up here to get some rest. With an armed guard. Look where we are."

Morgan turned back slowly walking towards his young colleague.

"Sorry," Reid mumbled "but I don't want to be ordering a coffee while we stand over _your_ body trying to figure out what happened."

"Hey, Reid. Nothing is going to happen to us, to me. Ok? I'm going to stay right here. Screw the coffee, we can get it from room service." he smiled slightly, hoping his attempt to lighten the situation would work. "Can you imagine Prentiss' face when she finds out we charged all our coffee to her room?"

Reid cracked a small smile. "I'd love to see that," he murmured softly, sadness seeping into his voice "She'd be so mad."

"Yeah, she _will_ be mad." Morgan insisted, anger filling his heart at Reids negative tone, hopeless tenses."Not would be, will be. She _will_ be mad!"

"Morgan you know the chances as well I do, she might not-"

"Reid, don't start quoting statistic against her chances, they're gonna be fine."

An officer interrupted before Reid could reply "We're finished interviewing Ms. Miles..." she trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

"Thank you." Reid said stepping forward.

She nodded before walking towards the stairs.

"Darcey maybe,um... you should er... get a cup of tea or something?" he suggested.

She shook her head staring at the stain on the floor. "I'll be ok."

"Really, it's completely understandable if-"

"I'm fine, please just... don't"

"Darcey come on I'll buy you a coffee," Morgan said, putting his arm around her shoulders.

She nodded, tears catching in her throat, "Ok."

Reid was left standing in the corridor as Morgan lead the young woman to the elevator, she look back at him a smiled a watery smile. He raised his arm to wave as the doors closed, but talking to the dark agent she didn't notice.

He let it fall to his side as he stared after them.

* * *

"We come bearing coffee!" Morgan called, as Darcey walked in, their hands filled with polystyrene cups.

Reid gratefully accepted a cup from Darcey. She sat next to him,smiling as he hurriedly moved his crutches out of the way for her.

"So what's new?" Morgan asked, passing the final cup to his boss.

"We need Garcia to get the hotel security tapes." Rossi said just as Hotch's cell phone rang.

Hotch quickly scanned the number, but didn't recognise it.

"Hotchner," he greeted.

"Have you noticed that your an agent down yet Agent Hotchner?" Foyet replied by way of greeting in a relaxed tone. Hotch covered the receiver for a moment while mouthing to Morgan, _"It's him. Have Garcia trace the call." _

"Where is she?" Hotch snarled. He placed the call on loud speaker, for the benefit of those surrounding him trying to listen in.

"Which 'she' Agent Hotchner? There are so many women in your life, I can hardly keep track..."

"What have you done?" Hotch snapped angrily.

"Temper, temper Agent Hotchner. I just called to give you the chance to redeem yourself." Foyet said excitedly. It made the profilers sick.

"And how do you propose to do that?" he asked in frustration.

"You get to choose again. Which colleague would you prefer to save?"

At those words, Aaron Hotchner's heart sank. He now knew for sure. The reaper had killed the mother of his son. Haley. The love of his life. She had never forgiven him, and now he'd never see her again.

"You're sick." Hotch responded coldly.

"I'm giving you another chance. Choose one to die." Foyet said coldly, all conversational tone gone from his voice.

"How do I know you won't kill them both?" Hotch asked doubtfully.

"I'm a man of my word Agent Hotchner. If you choose Emily to die, I'll tell you where to find Jennifer. If you choose to have Jennifer die, I'll tell you where to find Emily. You have thirty minutes to decide."

The line went dead once again.

* * *

Agent Jennifer Jareau worried a lot more over the recent years. Since she had been a mother, her worry-meter had been sent into over-drive. Nothing made her panic more than when she thought of the well-being of her son.

Henry. That's all she could think about when she heard Foyet say those words to Hotch, who was undoubtably on the other end of the line.

_If you choose Emily to die, I'll tell you where to find Jennifer. If you choose to have Jennifer die, I'll tell you where to find Emily_.

JJ had narrowly escaped with her life. But it had come at a price. She had had to watch Foyet repeatedly stab Haley. Over, and over, and over. It was a sight that would replay in her head for the remainder of her life.

She wasn't sure if she could witness the same thing happen to Emily.

Emily saw the look on JJ's face. She was thinking of what she had been forced to witness. She needed to distract the young mother. "What was the BAU like before I joined?" Emily asked desperately, trying to bring back the old JJ, hoping it wasn't too late.

Emily Prentiss had seen some bad things in her life and she had coped, but watching one of her best friends die, she wasn't sure if she could bear that, she hoped Hotch would make the right decision. She watched as JJ twisted her ring around her finger, the birthstone glistening in the dull light. She really hoped he'd leave the young mother see her son again.

Little did Emily know, her wish was to soon be granted.

* * *

The thrilling of Hotch's cell caught all of the profilers off guard. The looked at the Unit Chief expectantly, who proceeded in whipping out his phone and answering with his trademark, "Hotchner."

"You made a decision yet?" the cold voice asked.

Hotch hesitated. He hated this. No matter what he did, another woman was going to die at his hands, and he hadn't the power to stop it. He thought back a few years to the last time the team had been in a situation remotely like this one. He said the only thing he was willing to offer.

"Me," he responded. He could see Morgan and Rossi staring at him in horror, Darcey in confusion and Reid in understanding. Hotch knew the Reaper wouldn't go with it, but he had to try, "Kill me."

"Not an option, Agent Hotchner." The Reaper replied, "Guess I'll be choosing for you yet again..."

"No, don't-"

"Too late. You made your decision Agent Hotchner. Or rather, didn't. I look forward to speaking with you again!"

Before Hotch was even aware of it, he was left with only a dial tone. Morgan slowly took the phone from Hotch's outstretched hand. It was too late. Another woman would die because of his decision. And he didn't know who.

* * *

"So that's why...."

"Reid's only a genuis in english, yeah" JJ said nodding.

The door slowly creaked open, interupting Emily mid laugh, and Foyet walked in, a self-assured smirk plastered across his face.

Hearing someone enter the room, she tried to sit up straight, eyes never leaving the psychotic man.

He walked over to the bloodied body in the corner, kicking it as he went.

"You leave her alone!" Emily yelled, struggling against her bounds, "No! Leave Haley alone! Haven't you done enough? She's dead, you killed her. Let her have some peace now."

"Aw, maybe your right, perhaps we should call your boss, and see what he thinks, hmm?"

She was certain that phone call would haunt her forever, become the soundtrack to her dreams.

_If you choose Emily to die, I'll tell you where to find Jennifer. If you choose to have Jennifer die, I'll tell you where to find Emily._

She moved closer to JJ.

"They'll find us, Jayje. We just gotta trust them."

"They won't find us both, though." JJ looked at the brunette, her eyes dead, gaze fell back to the corner and the limp form lying there. "I watched her die, Emily. She screamed, and I begged for him to stop. But" she shrugged, "He wouldn't. She looked at him and pleaded... and he laughed."

_She's losing hope....._

The door slowly creaked open, and Foyet walked in again, that same self-assured smirk plastered across his face.

"You boss couldn't pick his favourite. Guess I'll do it for him," he said coolly.

"Who to choose?" he taunted. "I could let you choose, wouldn't that bring back memories of cases past, Jennifer?"

Emily looked at the woman, the mother beside her. Her decision was made.

"Me, take me!"

That completely shocked JJ into finally responding.

"You can't expect me to watch you die too Emily?" JJ asked in disbelief. "Stab, after stab, after stab. Even after you've died. I'll never forget it."

"And you expect _me_ to just stand by and watch _you_ die? You have a son! And Will! You can't forget them!"

Foyet paused. He knew that if he let the women choose, he'd never get a proper decision. Maybe this had to come back to him after all...

"You know," he began. There was a brief pause, before he continued, "I always preferred brunettes." With all the force he could muster, he grabbed as many strands of JJ's blonde hair as he could, undid her bounds with his free hand, and dragged her out of the room by the hair.

"NO! Take me! Please take me" Prentiss sobbed, her dark hair falling over her face. It was useless. His choice had been made.

"Please take me..."she mumbled. she could hear his voice, but not what he was saying. JJ replying.

She was still alive, there was hope.

"You have something to live for, JJ." she yelled."You have someone waiting for you to come home everyday. I don't. I have nothing to live for compared to you. Foyet, you coward. Take me!"

JJ ignored Emily's pleas. She was too busy looking at the monitors in front of her. There were several video feeds. She saw the conference room where the team met to discuss the case. She saw Emily's hotel room. Her hotel room. Some of the other crime scenes.

Foyet had been watching them the whole time. But it was one particular video feed that stuck out to her.

Henry.

"That's your kid right?" Foyet asked in a gruff manner.

JJ looked at him defiantly. "I'd die before I let you hurt him."

That familiar, self-assured smirk reappeared on his face, "Precisely."

He walked up behind her, "Take a good look sweetheart. Remember that face. You won't be seeing it again."

He grabbed her arm in one hand, while the other reached for her soft neck. She saw the glint from the corner of her eye and her heart froze.

She looked back at the screen to see Will picking up Henry and swinging him around. Her fiance and son, laughing, carefree.

"Henry, Will." she whispered tears falling slowly. "I love-"

* * *

Emily sat up as she heard the door open.

"Here's your friend." he smiled throwing JJ towards Emily. She landed on the profiler's lap, hair spilling over her face.

"JJ, what happened. Are you ok?" She gently moved the blonde hair covering her friends face."Talk to me..." she said tipping the young woman's head, slightly.

"NO!" she looked down into JJ's blue eyes, still shining softly, as the blood ran from her neck staining Emily's pants.

* * *

"Baby-girl, please God, give us something good."

"Sorry my hunky dory, the entire hotel security footage was wiped clean. I have until adorable cop Garvey says 'Sleep tight' to our Emily princess and than I have little Darcey Miles discovering her dead buddy. Not a pretty sight. Poor kid will be traumatised after that."

"I think we all will be after this case. We strongly think that Foyet-" Morgan quickly glanced around to see Rossi and Hotch deep in conversation before continuing, "We believe Foyet may have killed Haley. He made Hotch choose between JJ and Emily. No mention of Haley."

Garcia gasped, and sniffled a little, "My poor boss-man."

"Penelope." Morgan asked quickly, "Do you have anything else you found? Anything useful?"

"As a matter of fact," Garcia replied, "It turns out that a computer store near International Drive has equipment missing. Since last night. Now you may ask where this fits prêt ell? Turns out that this store recently had an employee murdered - who we know as Georgia Everett, our second Orlando victim to the slime-ball reaper. And that got me thinking. The reaper takes something from each of the victims right? What if he took Georgia's keys to the shop? And stole a few things?"

"Garcia that doesn't make any sense. Why would he steal a computer? Does Foyet even know how to use them?"

"Morgan - the email address that sent me those photos in text speak, pretty much says 'Nine times, from the Reaper.' You telling me that's just a freaky-deaky co-ink-ee-dink?"

Morgan paused. "Baby girl, you may be onto something. You're a genius. Ciao." He turned to face the rest of the team. "The computer store Georgia Everett worked in was robbed, but they didn't force their way in. Garcia thinks that Foyet stole Georgia's keys and walked right in, took what he needed. It would explain how the security footage has vanished."

"We need to make sure it's consistent with the time frame. Morgan, you go to the computer store, and Officer Miles, you go with him." Hotch ordered, "Be back here as soon as possible."

"Will do Hotch," Morgan replied as he pulled out the keys of the SUV.

* * *

Garica quickly speed-dialed Morgan's number once again. She knew he was still on his way to the computer store and felt she should give him a heads-up of what to expect.

"Baby girl, tell me you have something, anything," was his answer.

"Oh, my prince I always have something, only you might not like this. The computer store? Footage is nil, wiped again, the alarm wasn't set off, drum roll please - because a key was used."

"Garcia, my love goddess, I don't know-" he stopped dead, mid-sentence.

"Morgan? Really funny. Come on hunkster, finish your sentence don't leaving me hanging. Your mom spent a long time teaching you to talk, make her proud!"

Silence filled the line.

"Morgan?"

She could now here the dialing tone. She redialed his number. Nothing.

"Come on Derek, don't do this to me, not again! Not now."

* * *

_Reviews are love._


	11. Agents: AWOL

_**Summary:** __It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Author's Note: **__Just a reminder; this is set pre Cradle to Grave, so Hotch is still the boss-man! Well, well. We did the evil. And we shall continue to be evil. No character is safe! Just as a point of interest, none of you guys seemed too concerned about Morgan in the last chapter. It's probably a bit unrealistic to you guys that Foyet can magically get to the team, but trust us, there is a good reason why. It shall be eventually revealed in a couple of chapters or so. So, we had a bit of a drop in reviewers, and we aren't very surprised. It's not like we killed - oh, wait. Anyway, if you've been paying close attention, subtle hints have been dropped throughout the story before anyone was taken. If you re-read chapter two (Fun; Interrupted) after this one, you may see what we mean. A lot of the stuff we put in that seems a little un-necessary may be foreshadowing something. And thanks to those who weren't too traumatised to review - namely Dicsi, imajazzbandnerd, nexis44, safe .from .harm and Shakuma-Marie-Uchiha. And in response to our last review, no Shakuma-Marie-Uchiha, we aren't going to wipe out the **entire** BAU team. Well, you never know._

_So the 100th episode airs tonight, and that was our main motivation to speed up our updates. Hope you guys enjoy it and our latest update. We may slow down the pace now that we got as much as we could in before the 100th. But there still is quite a bit left in this story left to go - trust us._

_Cara and Ava. x_

* * *

**Chapter Ten - _Agents; AWOL_**

_Lemony Snicket once wrote; 'If you have ever lost a loved one, then you know exactly how it feels. And if you have not, then you cannot possibly imagine it.'_

His heart was pounding as he picked up the ringing phone....

_Please, no one else...._

Taking a deep breath, he glanced at the number.

"Garc-"

"Why isn't my chocolate god answering his phone? I didn't mean to insult his mom! Well, I didn't actually insult his mom, I did kinda insult him though, I was just messing around, I thought he knew that!" The technical analyst wailed. "Hotch, call him and tell him I didn't mean-"

"Garcia, slow down. What do you mean Morgan's not answering his phone?" Hotch frowned.

Reid looked to Hotch his heart sinking. "But Morgan _always_ answers his-"

Hotch waved his hand to Reid mouthing

_Give me a second. Get Rossi!_

"I mean it just keeps ringing! He won't pick up." she started crying, "I was only joking Hotch, I didn't mean to make him mad..."

"Sshh, it's ok. I need you to take a deep breath a calm down ok?"

She sniffed, wiping her eyes.

"Ok."

"Right, Garcia I need you to track his cell, send me the location."

"Ok, it's coming to you now."

"Thanks Garcia."

"Hotch, you think something's happened? I mean he always answers my calls."

"I don't know what's happened. I'll keep you posted, Garcia. Thanks."

* * *

"I brought you a friend!" called the sing song voice.

Prentiss didn't look up, she continued stroking the blonde hair of the young agent.

"Now, now, I've brought you a play mate and you say nothing. That's not very nice is it?"

She looked up her eyes blazing. "Go away!"

"No need to keep this tatty thing around is there?" he asked. Bending he grabbed the blonde's limp wrist and pulled JJ's body from Emily's lap and threw it in the corner.

"NO, JJ! How could you?

"It was simple really." He stepped back surveying his work, "Shame, she was a pretty little thing." He walked to the door.

"Emily, sweetheart, meet your new room mate. Play nicely!" he said with a cruel smile. He carelessly dumped the body against the wall opposite her, before slaming the door.

"No, no please. Not you too!" she whispered, unable to move towards the limp form. all she could do was stare helplessly. She angrily yelled after her cruel captor, "HOW COULD YOU? YOU COWARD!"

* * *

Leaving Hotch drive to the co-ordinates of Morgan's cell phone may not have been the best decision the BAU had ever made. With the incredible speed Hotchner was driving at, neither Reid nor Rossi had felt more travel sick in their lives. It was the only reason they were relieved to get out of the SUV. Their relief quickly vanished when they set their eyes upon the scene.

An SUV that Hotch quickly identified as Morgan's, had been forced off the road, and crashed through a mesh fence into a parking lot. Hotch and Rossi broke into a sprint to the SUV, and Reid slowly hobbled after them. Hotch reached the SUV first, and felt his heart sink when he saw the sight that fell before him.

The driver's seat was empty. What Hotch had been dreading to discover was indeed confirmed; the Reaper had taken Morgan.

Rossi reached the SUV a moment later, and gasped when he saw the empty seat. He let his eyes glaze over to the passenger's seat, and was alarmed to see the still form of Officer Darcey Miles laying there. His panic somewhat eased when he saw the slow and even rise and fall of the female cop's chest. Rossi heard Reid's sudden stop as he processed what was in front of him.

"Is she..."

"No," Rossi replied quickly, "Just unconscious."

"We need to get her out of there!" Reid said quickly.

"I agree," Hotchner sighed. He went around to the opposite side of the SUV, to the passenger door, but discovered the mesh-wire fence had done quite a significant amount of damage, and the door was almost fused shut. He yielded and returned to the driver's side. He managed to pull open the door, and carefully crawled over the glass-scattered seat to unbuckle the unconscious officer. He scooped her up carefully and slowly reversed until he was out of the SUV. He lay the young woman on the ground.

Reid slowly sat down in front of her face and lightly patted her cheek. Her blue eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Are you okay?" Reid asked slowly.

"He was tailing us," was his answer.

"Who?" Rossi asked.

"Foyet. I didn't recognise him, but Agent Morgan realised it was him. He tried to shake the tail, and we thought we'd lost him, but we came around the corner and he'd been waiting. He ambushed us, forced us off the road. I don't remember much after that..."

Rossi exerted a little pressure on Darcey's forehead, and continued doing so until she winced before she could stop herself. A poppy-shaped bruise was already taking form in that spot. "Looks like you took quite a hit to the head. You may want to get that checked out."

Panicked, the officer began to quickly sit up, "No, I don't. I'm fine."

"Officer Miles, you need to have that examined." Hotch said sternly.

Pausing for a moment, Darcey thought out her next move wisely, "Agent Hotchner, you're already three team members down. Not to mention a police officer. Will it really do any good if I stop working the case?"

Hotch paused for a moment, and unable to argue with that, surrendered.

"As soon as we find Foyet, you are to get yourself checked out." he ordered.

"Deal." the young officer replied.

* * *

"Morgan? Morgan??" Emily asked the still form of her colleague. This couldn't be happening. How had Foyet done this?

A groan was her reply.

"Please, come on open your eyes and look at me!"

She got no response.

She slipped off her shoe and took aim. It hit his ear. "Wake up!"

"Ouch, that hurt!" he mumbled.

"Be grateful I wasn't wearing heels!"

He sat up slowly, holding his head. He looked at her and blinked. She watched as he focused on her, watched as his eyes shone with delight.

"Prentiss," he whispered, a smile slowly spreading over his scratched face, "You're alive!"

"I told Reid you were ok!" he added with a grin. It slowly slide into a frown.

"Wait. No. If your alive.... then where's JJ?"

Emily hoped that he couldn't see her tears slowly falling.

"She... she, um.... "

_Don't look at the corner, Emily. Don't look at the corner!_

"Come on Prentiss, spit it out!"

"She's gone, Morgan." she said quietly.

"Gone? That's great, how did she get out? Is there a vent or-"

See, I worry for this country, if you're one of our protectors, Derek. Thankfully there are other agents like Emily who aren't as dense as you!" came an amused voice.

"Huh?"

"She's dead Derek! Look over there, that is JJ. Death suits her doesn't it?" Foyet laughed cruelly, as he walked towards the brunette. "Having fun?"

He stepped back suddenly, slowly wiping away the trail of Emily's spit.

"Big mistake...."

He slowly walked over to Emily, and grabbed a hold of her hands tightly. Emily was baffled when he loosened her bounds, and quickly tied wrapped a rope around her free arm, securing it to her waist. He pushed her to the ground, and Emily began to panic when he sat on her back. _What does he want with me? _She thought. Before she had time to acknowledge what had happened, he grabbed her arm and yanked it back with such force that she felt her bone separate from its joint. She just lay in shock.

"You son of a bitch! leave her alone!"

The pain was making her light headed, the room spinning. But she refused to scream, she refused to give him the pleasure. Foyet rose to his feet, and re-tied her bounds.

"You've been warned.." he whispered before walking to the door. She looked up, eyes burning with hatred.

"I never listen to warnings Foyet."

"You will listen to mine." he promised.

* * *

The woman groaned as she unpacked the groceries from her car. She hated the fact that her apartment was on one of the highest floors. She struggled to carry the bags in through the door, and was relieved to see that she'd had a stroke of luck. An elevator was already free.

She slid in through the doors and pushed the button for the 13th floor, while balancing all the shopping bags in her arms. Luckily, no one else interrupted the elevator ride, and she strolled out of the elevator on the 13th floor. She only had a short distance to walk before she reached her apartment. When she saw it was open, she panicked a little.

_Calm down, _she thought, _remember what to do in these situations._

She slowly and quietly dropped her bags outside her door and slid in the doorway silently. She crept through her kitchen, and hid behind the wall while peeking into her living room. The light and the television were on, she was certain she'd switched those off. She snuck into the living room, and silently grabbed the fire poker from the fireplace. Her intruder was sitting on her couch, she discovered.

_A burglar who makes himself at home. There's a new one for you. _she thought to herself, before raising the fire poker above her head and -

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," her intruder said suddenly, not even glancing over his shoulder. Startled, she dropped her makeshift weapon.

"My god! What are you trying to do? Force me to kill you?" the woman replied, half relieved, half frustrated.

"You would never have done that. I thought you had more stealth to be honest," he replied, not looking up from the book he was reading. He wasn't even paying attention to the television on in the background.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, confused. She hadn't talked to him in a while, and his sudden re-appearance was a little surprising.

"Just felt like a visit. Not quite sure why. You ever have that feeling that you should do something?" he asked.

"Believe me, I know." she replied sighing. He chuckled. His eyes finally looked up from the book he was reading and he smiled at her. It had been a long time since she saw him smile. He gave a quick glance in the direction of the television and froze.

"Turn that up," he ordered.

"What?" she asked, bewildered by his sudden interest in the television. When she saw what was making the news these days, her eyes widened in horror. She quickly picked up the remote and increased the volume quickly.

"_... the Unit Chief of the Behavioural Analysis Unit, Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, has been under scrutiny by his superiors for some time. And with good reason. Since Agent Hotchner has been in power at the BAU, Unit Chief following his predecessor former SSA Jason Gideon's public major depressive episode, his team above all others seems to constantly be endangered._

_It isn't surprising that two of the team members departed from the team, when you consider the facts. Since Aaron Hotchner has been Unit Chief, a staggering three members have been shot under his leadership, one of whom quickly resigned from the team following their shooting. _

_But the reason the BAU are now in the limelight again, is because it has been rumoured that members of the BAU have been abducted. If you're wondering if that is even possible, it's clear you don't recall the abduction of one of the team members in rural Georgia in February 2007. Videos of the killing of 'sinners' were posted on a website, along with the Agent in question being tortured by the killer._

_It seems that Aaron Hotchner's leadership at the BAU has caused nothing but problems for the member of his team. And one wonders why one would even dream of remaining part of the team when-"_

Frustrated with what she had just seen, she muted the television.

"Do you think it's true?" she asked, doubtfully.

The man paused for a moment, before finally putting down his book altogether. "I don't think it's impossible. It has happened before..."

"That doesn't mean -"

"You know as well as I do, if these were just rumours, they would have held a press conference to quell them."

They took another look at the television and were horrified at the new headlining story.

'_TOP STORY!__ BAU members investigate crashed SUV. Stronger rumours of the possibility of an undercover kidnapping emerging.'_

She sighed, "What should we do?"

"The only thing that we can do," he replied. "Help."

* * *

_Hmmm... who do we have here... Reviews are love guys..._


	12. Analysts: Angry

_**Summary:** __It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Author's Note: **__Just a reminder; this is set pre Cradle to Grave, so Hotch is still the boss-man! Sorry for the delay folks. This probably the longest jump between chapters to date! And our evilness may have prepared you for the 100th episode - seriously did anyone really think they'd go through with it? Also with regard to last chapter. Ava was quite disappointed that one of the scenes she wrote that was supposed to be very mysterious, pretty much everyone figured it out. Go figure. Nothing too drastic in this chapter, just ticked off Technical Analysts and Chinese Food themed heart-to-hearts. Anyway, there will be another delay this weekend - unfortunately, real life does tend to get in the way sometimes! Sorry guys! Thanks to our reviewers from the last chapter - paper . creations, Dicsi, nexis44, imajazzbandnerd, tazlvr2001, the-vampire-act and savetoniqht. Enjoy the latest update, hopefully its length will distract you from the long delay... ALSO. For any of those who haven't seen L.D.S.K (1x06), Derailed (1x09), The Big Game (2x14) and Revelations (2x15), there is a small chunk in there you may be best bypassing if you don't want to read any spoilers! Also some other sly spoilers that you may miss. Anywho, on with the show._

_Cara and Ava._

* * *

**Chapter Eleven - _Analysts; Angry_**

__

'Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.' ~ George Washington

"Darcey, maybe you should go to the hospital." Reid said yet again.

She sighed putting her hand on his arm, "I'm _fine_!"

Rossi wandered over to Hotch, leaving Reid and Darcey to argue about getting her head checked.

"You thought about it yet?"

"What? I've been thinking about a lot of things, Dave."

"Your big decision," Rossi said quietly perching on the edge of the table.

_"What 'decision'?"._

_"The one that caused fights through all of your marriage. Your wife... Or your team."_

_"I'd like to see you try and lay a hand on my team!"_

_"Is that a dare, Agent Hotchner?"_

Hotch shuddered, determined not to get lost in his memories.

"So have you thought about it?"

"I've had to make a lot of decisions, Dave. Which one?" Hotch snapped.

"Jack or your job?" Rossi replied simply.

"Let's just focus on getting Morgan and Prentiss back." he sighed wearily.

"Your going to have to choose soon Aaron, Jack's only got you now." He strolled away from Hotch, leaving him to ponder the older profiler's words.

On the other side of the room, wincing; Reid sat down, propping up his leg on the chair beside him.

He sighed wearily, rubbing his eyes.

"We're no closer to finding them then we were this morning." he said flinching as he moved over to make room for Rossi.

"Tired?" he asked the young doctor.

"I'm fine."

"You should get some sleep."

"Maybe later." he yawned

"Aaron." Rossi sighed, "Do you really think that staring at that map is gonna help us?"

"It might." Hotch muttered.

"Ever the optimist."

"I went to all three of your weddings didn't I?"

"What?"

"I was hopeful each one would be the last."

"Ha, you're funny."

Hotch turned to face the remainder of his team.

"Reid anything new on the geographic profile?"

Reid stood shakily, closing his eyes as he grabbed his crutches, ready to make his way over to his boss. He fell back into his seat, his tired body unable to support itself.

"You ok?" Hotchner asked rushing over to the young agent.

"Yeah, give me a minute." he huffed.

"Stay sitting, it's fine."

Rossi stood to give the young man more room.

"Aaron, he's exhausted. Maybe...." Rossi muttered, standing next to his friend, as they both stared at the board in front of them.

"No." Came the simple reply.

"Hotch-"

"I said no, Dave." he sighed, frustrated. "If he wants to sleep, he can do so here."

"Yeah, because he'll wake up so much more rested down here. Honestly, we should just give back the room keys. These chairs are obviously so much better than beds-" Rossi snarled sarcastically

"I'm not losing him too!"

"Sorry?"

"We have no idea who the Reaper killed, Dave. One agent is dead, and we have no idea if it's Emily or JJ. Morgan is missing and after the accident we don't know how badly he's hurt. My wife has been murdered! And Jack.... I don't know what's happened to my son....my little boy. So I appologise, David, if I don't want to send one of my agents upstairs, given that Emily and JJ were both taken from their _rooms!"_

Both of the profilers glared at one another, until one of them finally surrendered.

* * *

"Prentiss! Hey come on look at me."

"Morgan...."

"Yeah, I'm here. What hurts, your shoulder?"

She nodded gritting her teeth against the pain. He crawled nearer, wincing as he saw her limp arm.

"We need to get that strapped up," he said, kneeling beside her, "It'll only do more damage if we just leave it."

"In case you haven't noticed, we don't exactly have a first aid box lying around in here" she groaned. He ignored her. Looking around he spotted a familiar sweater lying by the door.

He shuffled towards it. Emily watched dozily her eyes growing heavy. He inched closer, the purple top under his arm.

"Ok, this is probably gonna hurt." he sighed reluctantly. Slowly, carefully he reached for her arm. She whimpered as he lifted her arm, pushing it to her chest. He reached for her other hand and held it to the weaker arm.

"Hold it there ok? Give me a sec." He grabbed the purple jumper, and started looking for the seam.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Emily exclaimed.

"Making you a sling." he said, pulling apart the material.

"No!" she snarled, letting go of her injured arm, flinging out to knock the sweater out of his slack hands. the momentum knocked her sideways, so she landed on her shoulder. She cried out in pain, curling herself into a ball, tears blinding her. "That's......" she sobbed. "That's JJ's."

"Prentiss, If we don't get that arm into a sling, the damage could be irreversible. That little stunt," he growled straightening her up. "won't have helped."

"It's JJ's" she repeated.

"I know, sugar, but it's all we have. She wouldn't mind. I know she wouldn't." He stopped before pulling off his t-shirt.

"What are you-?"

"We'll use this." he said, firmly.

"You'll freeze. I'm just being pathetic, use her...." she trailed off.

"You're not being pathetic."

She pushed the purple material towards him.

"Use it. It has sleeves, yours doesn't."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded, closing her eyes briefly.

"And put your top back on. Not that I'm complaining. I just want to keep the eye candy till later. I'm not sure I can handle you right now." she said with a cheeky smirk.

"If that's what you want." He said sighing dramatically.

* * *

Reid tossed and turned. He didn't see what good going for a rest could do. It was nine o'clock in the evening and he was a little tired from the day. Well, perhaps a little bit of an understatement. He was extremely tired. Hotch had been understandably reluctant to let Reid go for a lie down, considering that last time Hotch told someone to go for a nap, the cop guarding them ended up dead; and the person in question vanished.

It took Reid collapsing over the conference table out of pure exhaustion for Rossi to finally convince Hotch to allow the young genius to go to his room. Darcey had of course followed; still being on Reid's protection detail. She had been sitting outside his room reading a book when he had left her.

But as much as Reid needed to rest, he couldn't. He felt of no use - he wanted to help get JJ, Morgan and Emily back. He wanted to make sure they were okay.

He would have given anything to be in their place. He now understood their feelings during Georgia a little better. And Colorado. And Texas. Both times.

'_Huh,' _Reid thought to himself, _'With that track record, it's no wonder my life insurance is so high...'_

A soft knock at his door brought him out of his thoughts. He sighed; half annoyed, half relieved. He should've known that Hotch would come for him sooner or later.

He was quite surprised to see the petite police officer standing at his door with a small smile on her face. She threw a brown paper bag at him. He rummaged through its contents, surprised.

"You like Chinese right?" she asked. He nodded. She threw a small plastic fork in his direction. He looked at her in surprise.

"Let's just say 'skilled with handling chopsticks' is something that I'd put on my CV..." she admitted sheepishly.

* * *

"Nasty cuts there, Derek." Morgan's eyes were closed but he could feel the cool breath on his face.

He could feel the thin, cold line, pressed against his cheek.

He hoped Emily was asleep, he didn't want her to stress out anymore than she already was.

"Derek, Wakey wakey!" the force on his cheek was greater now and he could feel something warm trickling down his face. He opened his eyes to glare at the monster before him.

"Now then, that's better, isn't it?"

Morgan glanced over to the agent opposite him, she was curled up in a ball; her face tense even in sleep.

"Go, make sure she's ok." Foyet said, tipping his head to the side as her surveyed the dark agent's tender expression for his colleague.

Morgan frowned, hesitant. Foyet smirked "Anyone would think you don't trust me."

"Anyone would be right, then." Morgan spat, looking to the brunette.

_She is breathing....isn't she?_

He crawled to her, but tripped hitting the floor hard.

"Kneel!" the Reaper ordered. "Kneel next to her, down on one knee!"

Reluctantly, Agent Morgan did as he was told.

"Look at her!"

He stared at the worn out woman beside him, praying she would sleep through what ever Foyet had planned.

Raising his leg, the Reaper cackled as his foot made contact with the agent's groin.

Morgan gasped in pain groaning as he sat up straight again. He was determind not to cry out, not to wake Emily from the little sleepshe had managed to get. The kicks kept coming.

"Mor...Morgan." Emily mumbled, half asleep. "You ok?"

"I'm fine, go back to sleep." He panted, as another kick hit him.

"How long are you going to keep trying to protect her?" asked the amused voice, as he kicked out again.

"For as long as I can..."

* * *

"So how've you been coping?" Darcey asked Reid, scooping up another lot of rice with her fork. They were both facing each other, sitting cross-legged (at least Darcey was - Reid left his injured leg out-stretched across it) on the double bed in Reid's room, separated by an array of Chinese food.

"Fine," Reid lied automatically, looking intently at his food as he did so.

"And I own a time machine." she said, smiling sadly. "Half your team has been abducted... and you're fine?"

"What about you?" he countered harshly, "Your partner was just murdered and you're sitting here like nothing happened."

Darcey's calm facade broke and her face fell a little. Reid ran his hair through his hands in frustration. He sighed.

"I'm sorry. That was out of line." he admitted guiltily.

"It's okay. At least now I know you're not fine." she replied with a sad smile.

There was an awkward silence as both picked absent-mindedly at their food.

"Can I ask you something?" Darcey asked out of the blue, scooping up the remains of rice from the bottom of the carton.

"Umm, sure, I guess." Reid replied, unsure of what to say.

"Just before Agent Prentiss was sent to her room... you said something. About when a BAU member gets kidnapped or held hostage, you're always on top of the list...?" she asked slowly.

Reid immediately regretted agreeing to answering her question. But when he looked at the young police officer, he knew she wouldn't without leave him off until she knew the whole story.

"I'm the most experienced in that area, you could say." he replied. He paused, and Darcey looked at him, willing him to elaborate.

"The first experience of it was an L.D.S.K case. The UnSub was a local emergency room nurse, looking for glory. I was walking down the corridor of the hospital... and well the story ends with Hotch kicking me and me shooting the UnSub before he killed us, and several other hostages.

"The next time wasn't long later. Elle - she was on the team before Emily - was being held hostage by a Schizophrenic man in Texas. He was convinced that the government had planted a chip in his arm. Magic tricks happen to be one of my hidden pastimes, so I volunteered to go on the train and help. I 'got out the chip', so he believed anyway, but he refused to let me off the train. Things got out of hand from there. I managed to talk him down somewhat... but, well one of the hostages ended up shooting him."

Reid paused thoughtfully. He wasn't sure could he tell the next story of his hostage experiences. He was hoping he'd be able to pass of that the stories ended there, but his hopes were dashed when Darcey quietly said,

"There's more though, isn't there?"

Reid looked at her surprised, "How do you...?"

"It doesn't take it profiler to see that there was more. Something truly scarring." as she said the words, her eyes looked haunted, and Reid realised they must have been mirroring his own.

He opened his mouth, before quickly closing it again.

"It's okay," she said, "Take your time."

Reid looked into the understanding blue eyes, and knew he could do this.

"The case was a bad one," Reid began, uneasily, "Someone in Georgia was killing who deemed as sinners."

As Reid said the last part, he could've sworn he heard Darcey mumbled something like,_ 'That about the pot calling the kettle black...'_ He smiled a little and continued.

"We were coming up empty on evidence - even though the killer called the police just before he murdered the victims. We found no record of any similar crimes in the past. But, it turned out a witness walking his dog saw someone attempting to break into the house of our first victims not long prior to their murder. By the time the police force had arrived, they were gone. JJ and I were sent to interview the witness, and as soon as we arrived, everything was off. The witness wouldn't leave us into the house, and slammed the door in our faces.

"It wasn't until than it clicked - he had called 911 not because there was an attempted break-in; it had never existed. He was trying to figure out the response time. So that when he began killing, he knew how long he had once he called 911.."

Reid trailed off, and Darcey was uncomfortable with asking, "What happened next?"

"Hmm?" Reid replied, half listening.

"After you... found out." She could see the pain in his eyes, but she wasn't about to leave this unfinished. Reid talked to his food once again.

"I peeked in through the window, to see his computers - all the crimes scenes. He was our UnSub. The UnSub had been posting the murders online. It all fit.

"But he saw me. Ran out of the house and into his barn. Than I made a big mistake. We had no cell service, so I told JJ that we had to split up. I'd go around the back of the barn, she'd cover the front. But Tobias - the UnSub - was in the cornfield, and I followed him. For a minute it looked like he was arguing with someone. We'd profiled a team, so it only made sense. Than I heard JJ scream from the barn. I ran to help her, but the UnSub knocked me to the ground and took my gun. And than as he decided whether or not to kill me than, I realised the team's mistake. It wasn't a team.

"Tobias had D.I.D, and had committed the crimes under three different personalities. He knocked me out... and than..."

Reid really felt like he couldn't continue any further. As he thought back to the Georgia incident, his fingers unconsciously stroked the crook of his elbow. Darcey's eyes were then drawn there, and Reid knew by the look of understanding on her face, her sharp eyes had picked up on the long faded trace-marks. She paused and nodded her head in that direction.

"The UnSub... did that to you?"

Reid nodded. He couldn't speak anymore.

Darcey silently gathered up the litter spread over the bed and pushed it to one side. She slowly shimmied her way down the bed and moved closer to Reid. She brushed a stray lock of hair out of his eyes and looked at him.

Neither of them spoke, but both felt tears beginning to run down their faces. Darcey gently cupped her hand under Reid's chin. She than pressed her lips to his. He responded quickly, reciprocating the gesture. They didn't think, they just kissed each other hungrily. Before Reid knew what was going on, the brunette began un-buttoning his shirt. He aided her with the last few buttons.

Just as she began to the same to her own shirt, something in Reid's pocket vibrated. Darcey looked at him questioningly.

The magic was lost when Reid pulled out his cell phone and quick replied, "Yeah Hotch."

* * *

Penelope Garcia was out of her mind with concern.

_Why?_

Why did people have to target her BAU family? Why did Foyet have to torture her Boss-man? She felt guilty that when she saw the photos of who she knew to be a deceased Haley, she actually felt relieved. It was a horrible thing - of course she was sad, but when she realised that meant it wasn't her Jayge, she dead feel a weight lift of her shoulders.

Why did Foyet have to be Tech Savvy? It was always the bad guys who did the most damage that were Tech Savvy it seemed...

She heard the door of her little haven open slowly. She sighed, thinking she had a good idea of who it was.

"Kevin, I told you. I'm sorry but I'm just not in the mood." she sighed without looking behind her.

"Have we been gone that long that you don't even remember our names?" a familiar voice said from behind her.

Penelope's head snapped up from her work. It had been well over three years since she had heard that voice. She slowly turned around to see two people standing by her door.

Both had aged a little since Garcia had seen them last, but still looked healthier. Considering last time Garcia had seen either of them they had been in emotional ruins.

"...what are you doing here?" she asked quietly.

"We... heard. It was all over the news. We had to come. To help." The brunette woman replied.

Garcia paused for a moment, unsure where her head was at. She said the only thing she could think of.

"You left." she said simply.

"Penelope..."

"Don't you Penelope me, Elle Greenaway!" Garcia snapped at the former BAU member.

"Garcia, just relax." Gideon interjected, speaking for the first time, "We're only here because we want to help."

"HELP?!" Garcia screeched, a pitch higher than either of the former Agents were used to, they had never seen the Technical Analyst this upset, "You want to _help?_ You're just here to play the hero! This team has gone through hell and back since you've gone - and now you decide to step in? You abandoned us!"

Elle sighed. "Garcia... I made some mistakes. It's just that after I got shot-"

"Don't you talk to _me_ about getting shot! Don't try and act like I'd never know what it feels like! Maybe if you'd been paying attention to that news article that brought you here, you'd have noticed that since you left, two other people on the team were shot - and dealt with it without shooting the next scumbag possible dead!"

Elle looked hurt at Garcia's last comment, and Gideon had to play the mediator once again.

"Elle, leave her, she's upset. She has a right."

Garcia stared darkly at Gideon.

"You're no better - you left when everyone needed you most." Garcia said acidly. Gideon was a little taken a back - he'd never seen the chirpy Analyst act in this way. But, he knew she had the right.

He smiled a little, "I know."

Garcia was about to let rip a little more, when one of the computers beeped. She sat back down at her computer.

A new e-mail. The sender - the Reaper. Her heart skipped a few beats.

She held her breath as she opened the latest email.

* * *

_You know by now, reviews are love..._


	13. Colours: Profiled

_**Summary**: __It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart': **Morgan was abducted by the Reaper, who than dislocated Emily's shoulder. The only thing they could use for a sling was our dear JJ's jumper. Once Emily was asleep, the Reaper beat the crap out of Morgan. Meanwhile, Reid and Darcey had a heart to heart over Chinese food, which was rudely interrupted by Hotch before it could develop into anything more. Garcia also had guests join her, much to her dismay, before receiving a mysterious email..._

_**Author's Note**: __Sorry for yet anotherdelay guys, but this time it couldn't be helped. Ava was in England from Thursday to Sunday and couldn't work on anything. But we did warn you guys! Thanks again reviewers; Dicsi, nexis44, the-vampire-act, imajazzbandnerd, jessalynnGSR and Shakuma-Marie-Uchiha. It's nice to know the majority of you are begging us not to kill anyone else. It tells us we are definitely doing our jobs properly! We like having you guys on the edge of your seats. This chapter doesn't have too much action in it, but we can guarantee the next one (being unlucky thirteen) will have us reach new heights of evilness. Oh yes. But enough about that and on with the now! Enjoy the latest chapter!_

_Cara and Ava._

* * *

**Chapter Twelve - _Colours; Profiled_**

_'Nothing is less in our power than the heart, and far from commanding we are forced to obey it'. ~ Jean Jacques Rousseau._

Penelope's heart thudded from inside her chest. She could hear the former Agents rush to her side to see what was causing her distress, and she turned and glared at them cynically.

"Let me work and don't get within a four metre radius of me," she snapped. Garcia was well aware she was taking her frustration of the situation out on Gideon and Elle, but at that moment, she didn't care.

She clicked open the email to see that cruel message, although they were simple harmless letters strung together.

_And this is just a taster._

She gasped loudly when she opened the attachments with the email.

Photos. One of them was undoubtedly Morgan - Garcia would recognise her hunkster anywhere. She saw a nasty laceration on his face that was oozing blood - it disgusted her. She quickly skipped to the next photo, which was worse. It was an arm - and clearly was not in good shape. It was jutting out at an odd angle. Garcia knew it belonged to a woman, but she couldn't see any trace of hair in the photograph to give her an idea of whether it was a blonde or a brunette.

The last photo was unquestionably the worst. Once again, there was no clue to give away at who it was, but Garcia could see one long slice across a woman's neck. She could hear Gideon and Elle gasp in horror as they, despite her clear warnings, decided to look over her shoulder at what she was doing. But she didn't care. She had something she had to do.

* * *

Reid and Darcey walked (or hobbled, in Reid's case) into the Conference room, and tried their best to act normal. Reid felt like a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar. Could Hotch have possibly known what they were doing...? He had just ordered Reid to return to the conference room. He hadn't been any more specific.

Reid and Darcey strolled, guilt ridden though the doors of the room. Hotch and Rossi were still staring at the map, as they had been when Reid had gone to his room. The only difference this time was that the senior profilers were joined by Darcey's superior, Detective Devlin. Both felt their hearts thump loudly in their chests. Both their bosses in the same room.

Hotchner turned to face the two who had just entered. "Good, you're back. You feeling more rested?" he asked.

Reid felt relieved. Hotch had only been concerned for Reid's safety. He had cause - two agents being abducted from their bedrooms. Reid nodded at Hotch, "I'm certainly feeling more, ah, alert." Hotch could live without knowing why exactly that was.

Detective Devlin turned to his officer, pity etched all over his face, as he asked, "How're you doing Darcey?" He felt complete guilt for what had happened to Officer Garvey. He was their superior - he shouldn't have assigned such a dangerous task to his rookie cops. Because of his mistake, Cameron was dead. And though Darcey was doing her best to not leave it affect her, Kenneth Devlin knew that they had been close. It was cutting her up inside. She just preferred not to let it show.

Even now, she responded to that question with a simple, "I'm fine."

In the unofficial Law Enforcement Officer's vocabulary guide, 'I'm fine', was loosely translated as 'I feel like complete crap, but I don't really want anyone else to know that'. Devlin had heard many officers use that phrase before they had an emotional breakdown or before they collapsed after being severely injured.

Hotch's phone thrilled loudly, and he answered it with the classic, "Hotchner." He paused as he listened in the other end.

"Penelope, calm down. You received more photos?" A pause. "...do you know who it is?"

The silence was deathly as the other four stared at him, begging for him to tell them what was going on.

"...okay. Keep me updated Garcia - wait what?" Complete shock was on Hotch's face. "When?" he asked angrily. He awaited a reply before ending the call with, "Thanks Garcia, I'll talk to him. Give me a few moments."

"Something wrong?" Rossi asked immediately.

"Foyet sent Garcia more photos, but other than Morgan, she can't tell who she's looking at."

"Is that the only problem?"

Hotch froze, and decided it would for the best not to mention the sudden reappearence of two of the BAU's former members. He would tell Reid in time, but not now.

"No. Rossi - we really need to get to that computer store to question whoever discovered the things missing. It's one of our only leads." Hotch was aware that the last time he'd sent someone there, they'd vanished. But they needed to get back their team members before Foyet hurt them more - that much he knew. And the computer store was one of the only ways they could track Foyet.

"I'll join you," Devlin said quickly. He didn't want Darcey going out there instead - not after the last time.

"The two of you go down to the SUV - I have a call to make, I'll be down in a moment." Hotch than turned to the youngest in the room. "You two stay here and work on victimology and what Foyet has done so far, what else he could do. But DO NOT leave this room. Do you understand me?" They both nodded their heads. They knew they were now effectivly grounded. Both were relieved that Hotch hadn't known what they had been up to prior to his call.

* * *

Hotch quickly exited the Conference room and whipped out his cell phone. He quickly dialed the number and waited impatiently for the person on the other line to pick up. He wanted to have this brief.

_"That was fast Boss-man. Shall I have jerk-face talk to you now?" _The usual chirpy-ness in the Tech Analyst's voice was replaced with contempt, something Hotch was not accustomed to hearing. But he understood.

_"Aaron?"_ The familiar voice asked.

"What are you doing back there?" Hotch said bluntly, "You abandoned us during a case and after two years you decide to magically reappear?"

_"We wanted to help. Everyone else welcomed us warmly when we arrived in the BAU - except our team."_

"It isn't your team anymore, Jason," Hotch snapped, "You left, and you can't come crawling back now."

_"I'm only back, because I want to help you find the team. I'm sorry for my sudden departure, but things were rough. Besides, you need the help. You're down a few team members - just leave us help you."_

Hotch thought this out. Gideon was right of course - they were down three team members. He and Elle would help even the odds a little. But he knew the rest of the team wouldn't be happy to see them. He sighed.

_"We're flying out in the morning,"_Gideon said quickly, leaving Hotch with no choice, _"I'll see you tomorrow Aaron."_

* * *

Morgan woke up to find his hands cuffed to the large metal pipe behind him. When he'd first looked around the room when he woke up following the crash, he'd decided it was a pipe for water or for heating. Tugging at the cuff he realised he was right. He looked over to Emily. She was sleeping, and there was a slight pucker between her eyebrows. He pulled at his restraints again

_'Why now?' _he wondered, _'Why am I tied up now?'_

He sighed and flopped on to the floor again, his wrists aching from the metal rubbing against his bare skin. Prentiss groaned in her sleep, twitching a little. It was obviously a bad dream - they were common in the BAU, but he had a feeling that this was probably worse than the others she'd had since joining the team. Her face softened as she sighed and mumbled something quietly.

"Beautiful," came the voice from the door, "isn't she Agent Morgan?"

"You keep the hell away from her!"

Foyet paused for a moment, as if contemplating something. Than, conversationally, he asked, "Have you ever wondered why the members of your team joined the bureau? What brought Jennifer, the small town girl, out into the big world? Reid, with all his knowledge and odd socks-"

A shiver ran up Morgan's spine; how could Foyet know something as insignificant as Reid's socks? Foyet continued, well aware of the impact the last statement had on Morgan.

"He could be curing diseases... cancer, schizophrenia - why did he join the FBI? Or dear sweet Emily? Did she join to repent all that happened so early? To silence the demons from her past? And you Derek? Did you need to escape from the memories of Chicago?"

"I joined to stop scum like you!" Morgan snapped.

"Like me? Or those like your friend Buford? Your team must hide their feelings well, Derek, to treat you the same way. Still, maybe that's why you're so compassionate, you _understand._"

He strutted over to Emily, who dozily opened her eyes when she heard the foot steps.

"Wonderful, you're awake!" he smiled.

Panicked she looked quickly around the room until she found the familiar face.

Morgan's smile was pained, though he tried to hide it as he mouthed, '_Morning sleepy.'_

Her eyes widened in horror when she noticed the dried blood on her friend's cheek.

"Hey, It's fine, I'm ok." He reassured her, his jaw set defiantly as he stared up at Foyet.

"Derek and I were just having a little chat." the Reaper smiled as he crouched down beside her.

"Really? I pity him, Your conversational skills seem to leave something to be desired, Derek must have been bored senseless." Emily said calmly smiling innocently at her captor.

"Prentiss...." Morgan hissed.

"Actually it was a rather riveting discussion, wasn't it Agent Morgan?" he continued without waiting for an answer. "You're quite lovely when you sleep, sweetheart."

She gulped quietly, trying to hide her disgust, her inner panic.

"I hope I wasn't the only topic of conversation." she said. "Things like that can make a girl big-headed."

"We were just about to discuss the Bureau, when you woke up."

"Lucky me!"

"Yes I was just saying......" he trailed off, looking distracted. "That's a very flattering shirt, Emily." he said waving his hand to the blouse. "The white really complements your hair. Shame about the dirty marks. They should come out though. The blood on the other hand, yes, that might leave a stain."

"Good thing I have a fantastic dry cleaner then, isn't it." She shuddered at how cold she sounded.

He chuckled. "I suppose it is." He stood up and walked between the two agents.

"You know, I've been doing my own little bit of profiling. Colours say a lot about a person. Derek, that blue vest your wearing? That shows truth, confidence, security and loyalty."

"And there was me thinking it was just a nice colour." Morgan growled.

"Emily, your pretty white shirt." He paused. "Cold, clinical..... innocence. Is that true? Are you innocent, Emily?

Her thoughts drifted. Was she innocent? With this job were any of them?

She thought of Reid, first and foremost. When they had first met, he had been much more happy-go-lucky, and had a childlike innocence about him - in a good way. She remembered him showing her his 'physics magic' with a mischievous smile. Drinking gallons of coffee. Him happy. That had all vanished after Georgia. His innocence had gone, and in its place was a dark, haunted quality. It had faded a little over time, but after Georgia had come Colorado, and the anthrax incident.

At least it was Morgan with her. Emily wasn't sure if Reid would have been able to handle it. Considering the aftermath of the last time he was tortured...

She was brought back from her thoughts by a glint coming from Foyet's fist. She closed her eyes dreading to think what might be coming next.

"They say it's what's on the inside that counts. That you can tell what a person is really like...."

"You get away from her! You bastard" Morgan yelled, straining against the hand cuffs.

She could feel this breathe on her face, it was smothering. He ran his finger along her cheek, trailing down to her collarbone.

She was trembling, but she opened her eyes and stared back, her eyes shining with rebellion, she wouldn't give him the pleasure of knowing that her heart was pounding, fear running through her veins.

He twirled the weapon in his hands, before lunging forward, the knife cutting through the air. A loud rip filled the room.

"Son of a bitch!"

"Red......Passion" he said, with a slight smile, "Energy." He leaned in his lips almost brushing against her ear as he whispered,

"Desire."

"Get away from her!"

"Your wish, my command," the Reaper grinned as he stood up and headed for the door. He paused, and smiled at Emily, before the door clanged shut behind him.

* * *

Reid went through everything in the Geographical Profile again. And the Victimology. He came up blank. He didn't understand several things, and he didn't like it. Why had Foyet murdered Officer Garcey in cold blood whilehe kidnapped Emily, but left Darcey be while he abducted Morgan. But when he turned to the female cop and saw the bruise on her forehead, he realised it was the same reason the Reaper had not killed Morgan back in Boston.

Reid collapsed back into one of the chairs in frustration, "This is hopeless. We've been at this for hours and we're still no closer."

"I'm sure they'll make a break in the case once they're at the computer store." Darcey sat down next to him, and gently stroked his face.

Suddenly, she urgently pressed her lips against his. He closed his eyes, for a moment forgetting everything. He was too lost in the moment. He wrapped his arms around her, and he felt one of her arms go around her back, and her place his hand on her -

Reid's eyes popped open, shocked. She grinned mischievously at him, and pressed her lips against his again. Her lips tasted of strawberry, Reid decided...

She began to unbutton his shirt again, and Reid was suddenly aware that they were in the Conference room. He pulled apart for a moment and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you always this spontaneous?" He asked.

"It comes and goes," she replied, "Can't seem to help it these days though..." She smiled widely at him, and resumed kissing him. He began unbuttoning her shirt for the second time that day, and this time he succeeded in getting that far. She quickly took hold of the navy shirt and tossed it aside. Oddly, it landed on the wooden floor with a loud thud. Underneath of her shirt, Darcey was wearing a little vest. She removed that too, Reid aiding her.

"I never do things like this..." he mumbled, and paused, shocked. Darcey quickly picked up on what his attention was focused on and pulled away from him, horrified. She threw the vest back on over her head and went on a quest to look for her shirt. But it was too late - the damage was done. Reid had seen what she hadn't expected him to see. Reid had been shocked to see a few scars there running across her abdomen.

"Darcey..." Reid began slowly.

She ignored him. Her face was flashed a crimson red and she wouldn't even look him in the eye.

"Darcey!" he called, loudly and clearly. This time she slowly looked at him.

"It's nothing." she assured.

"I shared what happened with me..." he said quietly.

She ran her hands through her brunette curls. She collapsed back into one of the comfortable leather chairs.

"I'm guessing... it wasn't a hobo fight?" Reid asked kindly.

Darcey chuckled, and felt her eyes beginning to well up with tears. She eventually spoke in a quiet voice, "I was on duty, downtown. Not the best part of town but crime isn't as big an issue here as it is in other major cities. So it was unexpected. I caught this guy mugging an elderly man, and pursued him. I followed him down an alley, he dashed around the corner and I blindly followed. I was confused when I rounded the corner to see he'd disappeared.

"He hadn't. He was waiting. A few stabs later, and he was gone."

They both paused for a moment in thought, and Reid, not knowing what else to do, awkwardly put his arm around the brunette. She planted a quick peck on his cheek.

"Thanks," she said quietly. Reid looked at her, surprised.

"For what?"

"Listening," she replied simply.

* * *

_Reviews are love..._


	14. Thirteen: Unlucky

_**Summary:**It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart':**The Reaper abducted Haley, JJ, Emily and Morgan one by one, before killing the first two. He also dislocated Emily's shoulder and tortured both Morgan and Emily. Meanwhile, Reid and Darcey had two heart to hearts and two near 'encounters'. Which we rudely interrupted. Also, Gideon and Elle came back to the BAU and insisted that they would help with the case, much to Garcia's annoyance. Hotch and Rossi left with Detective Devlin to go to the computer store that Morgan and Darcey never made it to - leaving Reid and Darcey alone in the conference room._

_**Author's Note:** So here it is. Unlucky thirteen. This is the stage where things certainly go from bad to worse for the team. We discover some more secrets, and something a lot of you suspected might happen in the begin happens now - but not as you thought! Just a reminder - bad things will happen to **every **member of the BAU. They will be getting hurt. Some more - and sooner - than others. Thanks to our_ _reviewers - nexis44, the-vampire-act, Shakuma-Marie-Uchiha, imajazzbandnerd and MwandishiMsanii. There are a few things you guys are all commenting on. First - the Reid/Darcey (which we have nicknamed Reicey so our friends at school don't know what we're talking about) seems to really hit the spot for you guys. (Quick apology to Shakuma-Marie-Uchiha who was very angry we interrupted them - twice.) But, this is the chapter where their relationship gets complicated - as we'd always planned. Also, everyone seems to be excited about Gideon and Elle returning, and a few can't wait until Reid and Gideon reunite. But that won't be happening too soon... Enjoy our latest chapter of **serious** evilness._

_Cara and Ava._

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen - _Thirteen; Unlucky_**

_'It requires more courage to suffer than to die.' ~ Napoleon Bonaparte_

Emily shivered and shifted slightly trying to salvage the little dignity she had left.

"Prentiss. Hey Prentiss, You need to relax-"

"Relax! You want me to relax, Morgan?"

"Yeah, I do. You need to relax and stay calm, don't let him know he's getting to you."

"I'm sitting here in my _bra, _Derek. He hasn't _got_ to me he's-"

"Infuriated you? Hell hath no fury like Emily in her bra!"

She gritted her teeth, "That shirt was expensive."

"I'll cover the costs."

"It's fine, I'm just mad."

"Hmm, I wonder why?" Morgan chuckled smiled an evil smile, he knew she would kill him

_"But,"_ he thought, _"if it makes her smile, it'll be worth it. "_

He cleared his throat and started singing in a deep throaty voice "There's nobody here, it's just you and me, It's where I wanna be."

Emily stared blankly at him, he grinned

"The way you look tonight, I never will forget, the way you look tonight, the lady in red."

She raised an eyebrow, fighting back a smile.

"And there was me thinking you were going to let that go!"

He smirked shaking his head, "You wish, Prentiss, you wish!" He started singing again, in the deep voice, "I have never seen that _bra_ you're wearing, Or the highlights in your head that catch your eyes I have been blind. The lady in red is dancing with me cheek to cheek."

"Your lucky I decided to wear my red one, I'd like to see you come up with a song for purple."

"And it was all purple! Nope doesn't work."

Emily laughed, shaking her head.

"Derek?" She paused, there really was no way to tell him how gratefully she was, thank you just didn't cover it...

"Yeah?"

"Never mind."

"Prentiss?"

"Yes?"

"You're welcome."

* * *

"The Goddess Fortune is the devil's servant, ready to kiss anyone's ass." the quirky analyst greeted her latest caller.

_"Hey Garcia it's me," _her Junior G-man replied swiftly. Garcia saw Gideon sit up quickly, longing evident on his face. He obviously wanted to speak to Reid. But judging by Reid's slightly optimistic tone (well, as optimistic as one can get when half their team has been abducted) he clearly hadn't been told about his former mentor's return.

"Why my handsome coffee-bean, how can the wonderous land of Garcia help you today?" she asked brightly, shooting warning looks at Gideon and Elle to keep their mouths shut.

_"I was wondering if you could do a quick background check for me? Strictly routine?"_

"No problem my little bean - who's the latest hurt by slime-ball extraordinaire George Foyet?"

_"It's not a victim - well not all of them. I just want you to do a quick background check on some of the police officers with the Orlando Police Department. You think you can do that?"_

"What a silly question my minion, of course I can. Strange request though. Names?"

_"Detective Kenneth Devlin, Officer Cameron Garvey and Officer Darcey Miles."_

"Darcey?" Garcia had heard that name mentioned before. By... Morgan. It came back to her very quickly, "Isn't that the one you have a crush on?"

Reid squeaked indignantly from the other end, _"Can you just run the check?"_

"Checking out your prospective Mrs-Doctor-Spencer-Reid? I hear you." Garcia grinned evilly, as her fingers flew across the keyboards at incredible speeds.

"Okay - first up to bat. Detective Kenneth Gregory Devlin. Born in Miami Florida, and went to school there. He married and had three adorable kids... oh, one's called Penelope! What great taste that man has! Anyway, he than went on to move to Orlando around twenty years ago, and has been part of their police force ever since. His medical records are clean - worst that's happened to him was ten stitches to his forehead after an incident while playing golf with his wife. Obviously neither is very good at golf..."

_"What about the other two?" _Reid asked quickly.

"Right. Officer Cameron Noah Garvey was born in New York, to a single mother Laura Garvey. They moved to Orlando when he was five and he became a cop as soon as he left school. His hospital records don't show much, other than a broken nose from a fight with 'the world's-most-racist-hobo' according to the report. And - oh."

_"I assume it mentions that he was murdered recently?" _Reid said bitterly.

"Earlier today," she said dejectedly.

_"His partner, Darcey Miles, found his body and Emily missing."_

Garcia heard Gideon intake a sharp breath. She had forgotten that they didn't know who was missing.

"Yeah, I remember looking at the tapes. You want me to do a check on your girl?" Garcia asked quickly.

_"Do your thing Garcia," _Reid sighed.

A few types and clicks later, all the necessary information was in front of her.

"Let's see... Officer Darcey Kerry Miles, born to Owen and Kelly Miles, the youngest of four. One brother Danny Miles, two sisters - Matilda and Brooke Miles. They were all born and bred in Marathon, Florida. Oh - the Keys. Nice. Darcey studied in the University of South Florida and received a master's in Criminology and Anthropology. She joined the academy a few years ago and has been a cop in her home town of Marathon and Key West before she joined Orlando Police Department over a year ago. Oh."

Reid had a feeling that he knew what Garcia was looking at, _"The mugging incident?" _he asked.

"Huh, you have psychic powers today my Junior G-man. Just a month ago, Officer Darcey Miles was on patrol in Downtown Orlando with her partner, Officer Cameron Garvey. She came across a mugging while on her own and ran to help the man, chased the suspect - and well, she found him, but as a sick twisted greeting he decided to stab her seven times and leave her for dead. Luckily an anonymous passer-by called 911, and she just about pulled through. She was off on sick leave for a month, and this is her first case since re-joining the force. Who put the poor girl on a case where six girls ended up stabbed to death?" Garcia demanded.

_"Who knows Garcia," _Reid sighed audibly, _"Thanks Garcia, you're the best!"_

"You're welcome my coffee bean, now go find that bastard Foyet and get our cavalry back!"

_"I will Garcia."_

"Stay safe my Junior G-man!"

* * *

Foyet entered the room, winking at Emily as he walked over to Morgan.

"Derek, you are coming with me."

"NO! Not Morgan too, take me! Take me instead."

"Now, now, Emily I have a treat planned for you, don't worry!" The Reaper smiled.

He kicked out at Morgan, before undoing the handcuffs, and dragging him out by his wrist.

"Derek!"

* * *

As Reid hung up from the usually chirpy Technical Analyst, a few things struck him.

The first thing was that Garcia had sounded a little off, like she'd been trying to hide something. Had Hotch rushed off because they'd discovered something bad? No - that couldn't have been it. Hotch would have told him if they had any news at all on the missing agents.

The second thing that bothered him was what he'd learned about Darcey. She'd returned to the force and didn't mind working on a case of women being stabbed to death? After she had only very recently avoided a similar fate?

Reid felt a rush of guilt when he realised he was growing suspicious of the officer's motives. But she had been the one to discover Officer Garvey... and Ava Quinn. No. Why was Reid even thinking in this direction? They knew Foyet had done it all, how could he even think...?

* * *

Hotch's fingers twitched against the wheel. He was agitated. He really didn't like leaving Reid and Officer Miles alone in the Conference Room, but they really needed to go to the computer store. They needed to discover how Foyet managed to get in.

"So how does he sneak in undetected? He has a key, but I think there's more." Rossi commented.

"You think he had help?" Devlin asked from the back seat.

"No." Hotch said stubbornly.

Devlin looked taken aback, but Rossi sighed. "Aaron, we have to consider the possibility."

"The Reaper's a narcissist. He'd never ask for anyone's help."

"I'm not talking about him asking for help."

"Than what are you saying?"

"Foyet enjoys manipulating others. Getting them to do his dirty work. Controlling them. He forced Tom Shaunessy to stop chasing him by saying he'd stop killing. He doesn't ask for help. He threatens others so that they would do his bidding."

"Do you really think the Reaper has an accomplice?" Devlin asked, surprised.

"Not entirely," Rossi replied, "I'm just putting it out there as a possibility."

* * *

He shoved Morgan on to a chair, tied cuffs to the leg, and began pacing in front of him.

"I'm going to give you a choice."

"What kind of choice?" Morgan spat.

"You or me?" He said simply

"What?"

"Don't tell me you haven't thought about it! Working with a pretty little thing like that, I don't know how you can concentrate. But it's ok, I'll give you the chance. How could she refuse." He laughed a laugh that sent shivers up the agents spine. "She wouldn't have the option to refuse."

"You better not be suggesting what I think you're suggesting." Morgan hissed.

"You or me?" Foyet repeated.

"I would never do that to her!" he yelled.

"Than I will."

* * *

Gideon stared at the list in front of him, not sure whether to laugh or be offended.

'Things you don't say or do while in Orlando' was scrawled across the top of the page he was holding, in Garcia's handwriting.

Elle walked to the back of the jet, "I'm getting some coffee, want some?

He looked up. "Please."

"What's first on her list then?"

The older agent cleared his throat,

"1. Don't mention Haley."

"That doesn't sound good," she sighed adding sugar to the two large mugs.

"2. Don't," he swallowed, and stopped reading.

"Don't what?"

Reluctantly he continued. "2. Don't talk to Reid. Like, at all."

She looked away, knowing it was hard for him to read those four words. "What's number three?"

"Um, it's all pretty much-"

"Gideon. What's number three?"

"You asked for it." he muttered, straightening out the paper, "No unnecessary shooting -within reason. (Scratch that. Don't let Elle near a gun unless someone's life depends on it.)"

"Go on."

"4. Don't ask how Jack is. 5. Be nice, especially to Emily and Rossi -" Gideon snorted, "I will if he is."

"Anything else?" Elle asked.

Gideon continued, "6. Don't ask if Rossi is married again (he's not). 7. No going crazy and leaving again. Don't leave behind any letters either. Your explanations suck. (Both of you!)"

"Please tell me that's the end of it!" Elle groaned, carefully balancing the hot mugs.

"Two more left". he sighed, fixing his glasses." I suppose this counts as one though, it's not numbered and it's at the bottom, like a footnote-"

"Just read it!"

"Bring home my babies, don't do any more damage than you already have."

Elle collapsed into the seat opposite Gideon.

"Remember when we used to be counted as her babies?"

"Give her time," Gideon sighed, "she could come around."

* * *

Reid slowly re-entered the room. Darcey was still sitting at the conference table, fidgeting nervously. He smiled at her.

"What are you thinking?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing in particular," she replied. Reid sat down next to her.

"Alone in the conference room. Again." he sighed.

Darcey nodded, before she grinned at him devilishly.

"Off with the pants." she demanded.

Reid merely stared at her, not understanding what he was being asked to do. "Are... are you serious?" he asked doubtfully.

"Well we've no luck starting with the top down so we'll try things a different way!" the officer announced, as she untied Reid's shoes. She froze once she had them taken off.

She smiled sadly, "Nice socks! Pink and green works well."

"Christmas present, from..." his voice faltered. "From Emily and JJ, they both bought me a pair of socks, so I could 'mix and match'!"

He nervously reached down and rubbed his thumb against her cheek, smiling softly.

She looked up and smiled back, her eyes gleaming again, "Doctor Reid. I do believe I told you to take off your pants."

"I thought I'd distracted you." he sighed, defeated.

"Nope," she said pulling off his socks. Intrigued, she ran her finger along the scars on the sole of his left foot. He shuddered and tried to pull his foot away.

"Darcey, if Hotch walks in....."

"They're at the computer store. If we work fast...."

Reid blushed furiously. She giggled as she reached for his belt.

"We shouldn't be doing this!" Reid protested, "Imagine what would happen if he found out! He'd kill us! You know he would!"

Darcey froze at these words, and completely shocked Reid by unsuspectingly bursting into tears.

"Kill me... not part of the plan... have to stop," she mumbled incoherently, and Reid wasn't quite sure whether he was hearing the distraught officer correctly. She had changed her tune fairly drastically and it caught Reid extremely off-guard.

She sobbed heavily, as Reid sat next to her uncomfortably.

"I never wanted any part in this," she sobbed, "He made me, he made me! He tried to kill me! Jason and Abby are just kids... I made the right choice didn't I?"

Reid couldn't follow any part of what the distraught officer was saying. He couldn't follow what was going on. He hadn't heard Garcia mention anything about anyone named Jason and Abby in Darcey's past. But he was shocked when she began kissing him again, before mumbling under her breath, "This is how it has to be. It's for your own good." She ran her hands up and down Reid's arm as they kissed.

Reid forgot everything at that moment. He felt euphoric. He'd never felt this way before. Not when Lila had pulled into the pool and kissed him. Not when Austin called him and told him to open his package only for him to discover she had sent him a kiss by courier. But the feeling was oddly familiar...

A tingling sensation in his arm jogged his memory. He pulled away from Darcey in shock. And suddenly, he feel to the floor. And as he did, the soft hotel carpet had become the wooden floor. The lights had dimmed. The television in the corner had become several computer monitors. And Darcey had become Tobias Hankel.

* * *

The Reaper quickly dumped Morgan back in the room and re-chained him to his pipe before leaving again.

"Derek, are you ok. Did... did he hurt you?" Emily asked, panicked.

"I'm fine. Emily, look at me, ok? Whatever happens, just keep looking at me. Promise?"

"Now I know things are bad. You _never _call me Emily."

"Promise, no matter what you'll keep looking at me."

"Ok, I promise."

"Stay strong, Emily."

She paused for a moment, frightened. "What's he going to do Morgan?"

Morgan hesitated to answer, and the Reaper chose that moment to re-enter.

"We're going to have some fun Agent Prentiss," he said smugly.

"...what kind of fun?" Emily asked, petrified.

"The kind I know you'll enjoy. Agent Morgan won't go through with it, but I'd be happy to oblige him."

"Morgan - what's he going to do?" Emily repeated, more terrified than before. The Reaper was getting to close for her liking.

"Get away from her you son of a bitch!" Morgan yelled defiantly. The Reaper ignored him.

"Morgan? MORGAN?!"

* * *

_We're hoping you can interperet what's happened to Reid and Emily yourselves... errr we are evil, but reviews are still love?_


	15. Pain: Amplified

_**Summary: **__It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart': **__The Reaper abducted Haley, JJ, Emily and Morgan one by one, before killing the first two. He also dislocated Emily's shoulder and tortured both Morgan and Emily. Meanwhile, Reid and Darcey had two heart to hearts and two near 'encounters'. Also, Gideon and Elle came back to the BAU and insisted that they would help with the case, much to Garcia's annoyance. And just last time, to clear things up, Foyet couldn't resist Emily... and Darcey did something drastic, which showed she wasn't who Reid thought she was. What the hell is going on in Orlando?!_

_**Author's Note: **__Just a reminder; this is set pre Cradle to Grave, so Hotch is still the boss-man! To those of you who've been waiting weeks for this, we are **so** sorry. Call it a brief hiatus? Christmas kind of threw us off, and we haven't had the chance to work together in ages. Hopefully this chapter isn't too anti-climatic, how much would it suck if it were?! Thanks to you guys who reivewed the last chapter, err, two months ago it was we believe. Those being imajazzbandnerd, Dicsi, the-vampire-act, nexis44 and Shakuma-Marie-Uchiha. So sorry for the wait guys! But this was a tricky one to write, being that Ava doesn't do chemistry in school (and had the joy of researching sulfuric acid)__, so we had to lean heavily on the internet. Oh and we don't know a whole lot about American licence plates, so we took poet licence where that's concerned. Hopefully it makes sense to you guys, and doesn't stray too far off the mark. So hopefully you guys enjoy this. It'll probably be a week before the next update, as Cara is gone until Friday due to a school trip of sorts, and work experience for Ava! But next time you feel we've gone to far without updating - bombard us with angry messages if you must! Enjoy._

_x Cara and Ava (The Instincts, Amplified.)_

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen - _Pain; Amplified_**

_'We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are.' ~ J__.K. Rowling_

Hotch had begrudgingly agreed to pick up Gideon and Elle from Orlando International Airport en route back to the hotel. The computer store lead had given them next to nothing, apart from the fact that Foyet had used a computer linked to the network to wipe the security footage, and they had a mile long list of what had been stolen.

Gideon had fought to sit in the passenger seat to be brought up to speed with what was happening, a small piece of paper tucked under his arm. He kept glancing at it, with an odd expression on his face.

Poor Detective sat uncomfortably wedged between Rossi and Elle. Neither had said a word since the ride had began, and he sat quietly between them, coughing every few moments. He couldn't wait until he could get out of the car.

Gideon cleared his throat. The tense atmosphere was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Hotch pulled up at a red light, strumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

The older profiler thought back to the list. What could he say?

"Garcia's office doesn't smell like soy sauce anymore." Gideon noted, breaking the long silence.

Elle snorted, trying to hide her laughter with a "coughing" fit, before turning her attention back to the traffic outside.

"I know" Hotch replied stiffly. "I paid for the cleaners."

"This is ridiculous!" Elle muttered. "Someone tell us the stuff we need to know." she sighed.

The silence continued. Detective Devlin shifted uncomfortably next to her.

"Look Garcia said that someone was missing. An Emily?"

Rossi looked at Hotch.

"Your call Aaron. You want to tell 'em?"

"Will _someone_ please tell us, what's going on? In the news report it said....."

"JJ, Emily, and Derek are... missing." Hotch replied reluctantly.

"No. JJ can't be..." Elle gasped, "and Derek... No. That can't be."

"Well it is." Rossi said gently. "Might make more sense if you told them the _whole_ story, Hotch."

"Why don't _you _just tell us, David." Gideon said, turning slightly in his seat.

"I don't think I can do that without loosing my temper," Rossi said coolly, "I don't take well to people who run from things."

"Stop!" Detective Devlin suddenly called from the backseat. Hotch quickly pulled into a parking space in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Rossi asked in shock.

"There's - there's a squad car missing!"

There was an awkward pause before anyone else spoke, "Well, do you know which one it is?"

Devlin paused for a moment, panicking internally before shaking his head.

"No," he admitted guiltily. Rossi quickly pulled out his phone.

"Garcia," he said quickly, "We need a favour."

_"Before I forget to tell you, Agent Rossi, I just got a call from the team who processed the... SUV that Morgan was driving, and get this, the SUV no longer has a car battery. Trés weird, right? But what can I do for you, oh honourable Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi who has never ever abandoned me?" _Garcia threw in for good measure.

"You're not on loudspeaker Garcia," Rossi said with a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

_"Crap,"_ she sighed_, "What do you need?"_

"Can you get a list of all the squad cars that have been in the Enclave Suites parking lot in the last five hours? And the officers they're issued to? Call them out one by one. Just the plates, unless I say otherwise."

_"Listen to the keyboards obey my every command. Okay first up; registration plate 22O6s. Registration plate 18E7. Plate B182. Plate U44K. Plate I353 -"_

"That's it!" Devlin said quickly from beside him, his sharp eye-sight rapidly spotting the missing cruiser.

"Who is that cruiser registered to Garcia?" Rossi said quickly.

_"One second my minion - gotcha. Officer Cameron Noah Garvey, may he rest and peace, and his partner Officer Darcey Kerry Miles own that bad boy!"_

"Thanks!" Rossi mumbled as he hung up quickly, trying to remain neutral. The colour had gone from Devlin's face.

"We told them not to go anywhere!" Devlin protested, as he and Rossi hastily exciting the vehicle, the rest following in confusion.

"What's going on?" Gideon asked as he trotted beside Rossi. Rossi directed the answer more to Hotch.

"Officer Miles' cruiser is missing," he explained. He saw Hotch's posture change, and his speed quicken. He was first to reach the conference room.

It was empty.

Hotch groaned and pulled out his cell phone and hit one of the team's speed dial buttons. Reid's cell.

His heart stopped when he heard a vibrating noise coming from under the table. Elle was the one to retrieve it, and handed it to him wordlessly. On it was one word that made Hotch's guilt multiply.

'Hotch'.

* * *

_"Stop.... Don't, get off..... Morgan help, make him stop.... Leave me alone! Derek! Make him stop!"_

_"Keep looking at me Emily. Remember your promise. No matter what, keep those beautiful brown eyes on me."_

_His heart ached as the reaper slammed her to the ground, as she whimpered when her already injured shoulder hit the cold, hard floor._

_She blinked back tears as she struggled with the older man. "Get off me!" _

_"Emily!" Morgan yelled, _

_She turned to look at her colleague, her eyes glistening with tears. "Make him stop. Please make him stop Derek."_

But Foyet refused to stop, Morgan thought bitterly. Despite all of Emily's screaming and pleading, he never stopped...

_Foyet stood up with a satisfied smile, turning around as he fixed his shirt, and casually adjusted his belt._

"_They say _abstenance_ makes the heart grow fonder..." he smirked at the agent before him, before leaning down to whisper,"....They were right!"_

_"You son of a bitch!" Morgan roared. "You bastard! What did she do to you?"_

_"Derek, sshh, it's ok." Emily soothed weakly. "He's not worth it."_

_"Agent Morgan, whats wrong? Do I sense a bit of jealousy? I did give you the option..." Foyet grinned._

_"You sick bastard..."_

Morgan was worried that Prentiss was trying to push it out of her head; forget about it. As if she could.

_Prentiss looked up at the man standing before her. Blinking back tears she whispered. " Why?"_

_The Reaper stood between the two agents, "Emily....you could have said no."_

"How you feeling Emily?" Morgan asked slightly hesitantly. But he needed to know.

"Hmm? Um, yeah, I'm fine. Are you ok?" She asked with smirk, avoiding his eyes. It was a shadow of her former smile; it made his heart ache.

"Maybe you should try and get some sleep-"

"And miss out on quality time with you? No chance!" she put on her mask, _the happy, go-lucky_ Emily Prentiss that could deal with whatever her job threw at her was back. For now.

_'He'll just end up blaming himself for this if he thinks I'm...hurt.'_

"Quality time?" Morgan snorted raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, quality time. You know time during which one focuses on or dedicates oneself to a person or activity. Except in this case there's no activity."

"No activity? I'm sure we could change that." Morgan drawled, with a wink.

"You know, I'm sure we could actually." Prentiss replied pensively. "But we won't"

"Oh. Ms. Prentiss, was that a rejection?" Derek asked, in mock horror.

"Mr. Morgan I do believe it -"

She gasped, wincing as she tried to sit up a little straighter against the wall.

"Emily? Are you ok?"

_'Do I look ok?'_

"Yeah" she said forcing a smile. "I'm just a little stiff."

_'...and tired and sore and hungry and pissed off and cold....'_

Morgan sniggered.

"What? What's funny?"

_'Kidnapped, beaten, watched one of my best friends die.... nope I don't think any of that's funny....'_

"Nothing, it's just... Never mind."

"What? I could do with a laugh right now." she smiled, intrigued.

"Well you say you're a Vonnegut fan," he said with a smirk.

"Yes, and? Wait, wait! Derek Morgan are you....challenging me?"

"Yes, I do believe I am."

"Right, what do I get when I win?"

"Very sure of ourselves, aren't we?"

"Bet your sweet butt I am. Come on what's my prize?

"I'll buy you coffee."

"Yeah and the rest! Coffee doesn't cut it."

"How about dinner, Agent Morgan?" came a voice.

Emily's blood ran cold. She felt light headed and sick. What did he want now?

"Emily. Remember our deal, right at me, look right at me." Morgan whispered hurriedly.

She shook her head, biting her lip to silence the sobs that threatened to wrack her body.

"Emily!" he hissed.

"I think that's a fair prize, don't you, Emily my sweet?" The Reaper asked as he crouched down next to her. He pushed her hair off her face . "Don't you?" He asked menacingly.

She turned her head away.

"Fabulous. How about Derek wins you dinner, sweetheart?"

"I'm not hungry." she replied, wondering if her appetite would ever return.

"I'm sure you will be later, my love." Foyet said dismissively, turning to face Morgan.

"Derek, I'm going to be nice and answer the question for you." he said in a stage whisper. "Agent Morgan, do have any idea what keeps those big SUVs of yours going? Lead-acid batteries are made up of plates of lead and separate plates of lead dioxide, which are submerged into an electrolyte solution of about 35% sulphuric acid and 65% water."

"And you're telling me this, why?"

"Patience, Derek." Foyet proceeded to head out the door momentarily, before returning with what Morgan knew as a car battery.

"Where the hell did you get that?!" Morgan growled.

"While you and Officer Miles were taking a nap in the car, I took the liberty of removing the battery. It wasn't as impossible as one would assume." He placed it not far from Morgan, as if in deliberation of what to do next.

"How did you know her name?" Morgan asked uncomfortably.

"Officer Miles and I go way back," Foyet sneered, while investigating the car battery, "I just have one problem Derek... how exactly do I safely remove some of the acid?"

"Safely?" Morgan asked in disbelief. Foyet proceeded to wrap a scarf around his mouth.

"I don't want to be breathing this stuff in," he mumbled through the scarf, "highly dangerous. Even diluted, like it is now. It can still cause horrible damage."

Foyet surprised Morgan even further by producing a syringe.

"Didn't take you for the junkie type." Morgan said before he could help himself.

"I'm no junkie... are you confusing me for Dr. Reid?" Foyet asked conversationally.

Prentiss and Morgan froze. How could he have possibly know that?

"How... how..." Emily stammered.

"Did I know that? Mutual friend." Foyet replied. Finished with whatever he was doing with the battery, he turned to face the agents once again. Morgan was un-nerved to see that he had a syringe filled with a colourless liquid. At complete ease, the Reaper walked towards Morgan before releasing a single drop onto Morgan's bare arm.

Morgan couldn't help in, he flinched. Foyet dropped a few more on his arm, smiling malevolently all the while.

"Dehydration isn't very good for burns, Derek." Foyet smirked, as he left the room momentarily.

Morgan looked at his arm while he was gone. The skin was flushing an angry red already, and Morgan could see the tell-tale signs of blistering about to occur. He grunted in pain.

"...Morgan?" Emily asked quietly.

"Don't you worry about me Prentiss," Morgan quickly replied, attempting to avoid grimacing in pain all the while.

"But -"

"Nope, no reason at all... except when I beat you in our Vonnegut trivia challenge! So Prentiss. What is the recurring phrase in slaughter house 5?"

"So it goes...."

The light-heartedness Morgan was so desperately trying to return to the dingy room was interrupted by en enraged yell of, "That traitorous BITCH!" on Foyet's part. He pushed the door open again with more force than necessary, so it hit off the wall and became unhinged. Foyet re-entered the room, looking furious.

"I have to leave again, I apologise for my poor hosting skills. But I have something I need to attend to." he said the last part with a hint of vengeance, as he left the room without bothering to shut the door.

* * *

_"So, Hotch man, I double checked the security tapes and it's since been wiped clean."_

Hotch couldn't help but notice the slightly hysterical edge to Garcia's voice. This had to be taking a horrible toll on her. In the last few days alone, four of her closest friends had been taken from her. There was no way it couldn't have.

"Penelope..." Hotch began to reassure the technical analyst.

_"I mean why should I be surprised?"_ she asked with an edge to her voice, _"Foyet's wiped all of them clean. I guess since he's been laying low he's been doing some IT classes with a blind guy who wouldn't recognise Foyet to see-"_

"Garcia!" Hotchner snapped without thinking.

There was an awkwardly silence. _"I'm sorry sir. I know this is hard for you too; with Haley and Jack off the radar too. But I just... first JJ, that was bad enough. But than Emily? And Morgan? I **heard** him vanish. And now Reid? Haven't they been through enough? Does our team have a red target painted on our backs?"_

"Garcia, listen to me. You do not need to apologise. Right now we need to keep it together, for everybody. We're the only ones who can possibly help them. They're depending on us, Penelope."

_"Okay Boss-man... thanks for the pep-talk. I'll put on the old thinkin' cap and find some way to get our babies home. Garcia out."_

Hotch slipped his cell back in his pocket and turned to face the conference room turned crime scene.

"Garcia okay?" Rossi asked, as the others frowned at him.

"She's dealing with it as best she can," Hotch replied, "but it's obviously taking it's toll on her. It is on all of us."

"I don't understand this," Gideon began, "how did he take Reid?"

Hotchner knew that Gideon was going to be gutted. He had obviously been hoping for some sort of reconciliation with the youngest profiler.

"Well Reid wasn't exactly the most mobile of the group, was he?" Rossi said curtly.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Gideon snapped, misunderstanding Rossi's words.

"That he wouldn't have wandered off on his own," Detective Devlin input, "you can't really deny he was the easy target of the group."

"Easy target?!" Elle repeated, outraged, also not understanding what the Detective meant.

Hotch pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Jason, Elle, will both of you relax."

They both turned to Hotchner, eyes blazing.

"Hotch I don't get it," Rossi interrupted. "apart from Reid - what else is missing?"

There was silence in the room, before Detective Devlin broke it by uttering, "Darcey."

"But why take her now?" Hotch asked aloud, perplexed, "He had the chance when he took Morgan. Yet he left her in the car."

"And he killed Officer Garvey when he stood in the way of getting to Emily." Rossi negotiated.

"Darcey isn't the only thing missing though, the Reaper always takes something from his victims and leaves something else. The only evidence that Reid was taken against his will was the fact that his cell phone is still here -"

"But his crutches aren't." Rossi observed.

_

* * *

_

It was gradually returning to him.

Lucidity.

Slowly his senses re-joined him. Smell was the first to kick in - wherever he seemed to be, the scent was distinctive. Someone had obviously cleaned out his temporary home. It smelt of air freshener.

Touch came back with a vengeance, as did the tingling numbness he felt in his arm. He realised that he was in a confined space, his knees tucked under his chin in an effort to fit him in. His crutches were sticking into his back from behind him.

Reid finally realised where he was. He was in the trunk of a car. Why, he did not know. How, he hadn't a clue. And who's, well he was panicked that he couldn't remember. Though lucidity had returned to him, his memory hadn't.

Reid was momentarily frightened. His sense of sight was still null and void. Than he realised - he could feel soft material in front of his eyes. He was blindfolded. It than occurred to Reid that the boot of a car would generally not be a bright place anyway. They were keeping him in the dark, that just wasn't playing fair.

His thoughts were diverted, when he heard the sounds of raised voices.

"I don't believe this was part of the plan," came a cold, calculated male voice.

The reply was barely audible, no more than a murmur. But the next sound was clear, it sounded like a slap.

"Answer me!" the voice bellowed, anger laced within it.

"I didn't realise it would be so difficult..." came the eventual reply. The voice was quiet and reluctant to speak.

Another slap.

"Do you want me to have to explain things as clearly as I did in Downtown Orlando?" he hissed.

The next pause seemed to go on for eternity.

"I don't think I can trust you anymore..."

"No!"

"I'll have to deal with you sooner rather than later. I can't afford anymore mistakes..."

"Please -"

More silence. Reid strained his ears to hear anything more. Than, he heard a loud thump, like someone slumping to the ground. Before he could make sense of what was going on, several things happened at once.

He heard the loud creaking noise beside him. He felt light assault his eyes, even through the blindfold. And he felt the gush of wind as the trunk was opened.

"Why hello there Dr. Reid..."

* * *

_Reviews are love. Although after the wait we can understand if there is no love for us!_


	16. Reaper: Roulette

_**Summary: **__It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart': **__Haley's deaded, JJ's deaded, Emily's catatonic after what we like to call the 'ultimate whump' and seeing her friend die (and has a dislocated shoulder). Morgan, already hurt from the crash, became acquainted with some acid. But, biggest mystery of all. A squad car, Reid and Darcey are all missing. And who was that traitorous bitch that got The Reaper all riled up? And who the hell has Reid?_

_**Author's Note: **__Okay, not as quickly as we'd liked to have updated, but the buddy-system as someone dubbed our system, can get a bit tricky! Kudos to the reviewers of last time; __Dicsi__, paper . creations__, __MwandishiMsanii__, __Nymphadora-CullenBAU__, __nexis44__, __imajazzbandnerd__, __the-vampire-act__ and Iulya. The one thing that never fails to grab you guys' attention is but of course, the Reid situation. A lot of you guys seem to think we want to hurt him… which may be correct. No one is safe, remember? Okay information highway in this chapter. We find out a little more about the whereabouts of our fabulous team - but what is exactly happening to them? Quiz time guys. Can you guys see a difference in writing styles? Can you tell which parts are Ava-written and which are Cara-written. I think we asked before, but didn't get a response. Than again, with all the stuff we're throwing at you, we shouldn't be too shocked. Enjoy the latest instalment, and try and join in with the Reaper's game. What is contained in those mystery vials? Vials, I hear you cry? Yes you heard correct. Read on._

_X Cara and Ava_

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen - _Reaper; Roulette_**

_Well known American criminal Charles Manson once said, "Pain's not bad, it's good. It teaches you things. I understand that."_

"Hotch… there's an angle we aren't looking at here." Rossi mentioned reluctantly as they continued searching the conference room.

Hotch stood up for a moment, looking at the older profiler, "What angle, David?"

"Well…" Rossi hesitated, looking at the others in the room. Gideon and Elle were both looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to drag their names through the mud. "It's just, a little strange."

"What's strange?" Elle asked, sardonically, "The fact that one man could abduct more than half of the BAU?"

"Well that," Rossi replied, dismissing Elle's comment a little, "and the fact that this time, Foyet seemingly took the guard."

"What are you talking about?" Gideon asked.

"When Foyet took Emily, he killed Officer Garvey, no mercy. Why take Officer Miles? In fact, why did he spare her the first time, after she'd been in the crash with Morgan." Rossi speculated.

Hotch could see where Rossi was going with this. And so could Detective Devlin.

"Excuse me? Are you accusing one of my fellow officers of being in cahoots with the Boston Reaper? Darcey Miles is a damn fine cop, she may still be a rookie, but she's one tough kid. Especially for all she's been through recently. Don't you dare presume she's an accomplice in this."

"I wasn't suggesting -"

"You were, don't bother denying it."

"Just because he didn't kill her doesn't mean she could be an accomplice," Hotch input, trying to deflect the Detective's wrath, "he may have taken an interest in Officer Miles."

"He may not have taken her when he took Morgan because Foyet thought it would be difficult enough to deal with Morgan alone. Reid was incapacitated; his defences were down and Officer Miles was on his protection detail. Foyet may have seen a fun opportunity." Rossi added.

"Nice save," Elle mumbled under her breath.

"I'm sorry for that, Detective Devlin, but we need to consider every single possibility." Hotch supplied to the Floridian native, who sighed in frustration.

'_It might not be a bad theory Rossi,' _Hotch thought to himself, _'but I doubt it on two counts. A; the Reaper would never have an accomplice if he could help it and B; Officer Miles doesn't seem the double-agent type.'_

"Everyone get some rest," Hotch announced. It was well into the early hours of the morning and they weren't getting any closer to finding any of the team. They need to recuperate. "We'll meet again in the morning."

"Not too long until than," Rossi quipped.

Hotch paused as he walked out the door, "And no one, is to spend a single moment alone. We've seen what happens in that case."

* * *

When they had first profiled the killer they were searching, Reid remembered something they'd said while presenting the profile. He'd said it, while safely in his chair.

'_He uses power assertive behaviour, he uses aggression to gain control of the situation and show that he has the authority in the situation.'_

Reid never imagined they'd end up finding Foyet in place of this need, Floridian killer. A killer who had most of their team captive. Who killed one of the team, but as for who it was, Reid was still in the dark.

'_This UnSub is also a clear example of Anger Excitation Behaviour - nothing excites this UnSub more than the suffering his victims suffer. He's a sadist, and won't stop until he's caught.'_

What was in store for Reid? He hadn't seen the photos that Garcia had been sent. He didn't know what had become of the others. He did know that they had found no bodies so far at least; and if Foyet had killed one of the team he would have flaunted it for all he could.

'_If you choose Emily to die, I'll tell you where to find Jennifer. If you choose to have Jennifer die, I'll tell you where to find Emily_.'

Than again, Haley's body had yet to be found.

Reid was curious just how the team hadn't recognised Foyet's methods. Surely if they had realised it was Foyet, not as many innocent women would have died? Six women died, surrogates in place of the team.

Reid tried in vain not to yelp as he was dragged mercilessly from the trunk of the car.

…_nothing excites this UnSub more than the suffering his victims suffer…_

Now blindfold-free, Reid took stock of his surroundings. He felt the rough road beneath him, grazing any exposed skin.

Tar macadam. And it seemed new. The road had been built recently.

He certainly was in no graveyard this time, but that didn't prevent Reid from realising that pretty soon, he could be reliving a nightmare.

'_Concentrate, Spencer.'_ Reid thought to himself, _'You need to figure out where you are; help in anyway you can. It's the least you can do after getting kidnapped… again.'_

Reid looked carefully at where he was being brought. He was surprised at what he was seeing, none the less. He was looking at one of rows and rows of houses, all identical in almost everyway.

A housing estate? Newly built? Go figure.

Every member of Orlando Police Department had been searching all abandoned warehouses under the illusion that Foyet would have chosen one of those as his base. Council houses had jumped out to them as his chosen hideout.

But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Hotch had lost his family due to Foyet. The more Reid thought about it, the more it made sense. There was even a swing through the back garden that he was being dragged through.

Foyet had yet to utter another word, as he pried open a set of large doors that, despite the poor lighting of the moon, Reid realised led down to the basement. The stairs were wooden, and hurt every step of the way with Foyet deliberately allowing Reid's head to hit every one. The basement was dark, the cement walls cold and uninviting. The Reaper allowed Reid to sag to the ground, not even taking the effort to restrain the younger man. He finally spoke, his voice a mixture of sick pleasure and distain.

"At least the dumb whore thought of a smart way to detain you. Giving you the thing you craved the most."

Reid didn't have it in him to dignify that with an answer. He was too conflicted with all his emotions. Had he been set up? Had everything been a lie?

Foyet knelt right down next to Reid's face, to get the next thing through to the young profiler, "I hear you're the bright one of the group, Dr. Reid. Not extremely difficult, I imagine, but I know that still, you are exceedingly bright. Several PhDs and before the age of thirty. So I have a few tests I intend to try out on one of you. And since I know quite a lot about you now, young Dr. Reid, so why not?"

Before Reid had the chance to react, Foyet once again had the young agent pinned down and placed a blindfold on him once again.

"Let's have some fun, Agent Reid."

* * *

"Prentiss!" the call was urgent, and Emily couldn't help but panic a little.

"Morgan? Are you okay?!" she asked, a little terror evident in her voice.

"I'm fine," Morgan replied, shrugging away her concerns, "but is it just me, or did Foyet forget to do something?"

Baffled, Emily went back into profiler-mode for a moment to spot what was amiss. It wasn't too long before she figured out what Morgan meant. She let a watermelon grin split across her face.

"The door!"

Getting ahead of herself, Emily began to rush towards the door. Her captivity escaped her until the moment her chains pulled her back. She swore uncharacteristically. She felt tears glisten in her eyes.

"That's… that's where he took JJ… For her last few moments… her took her there."

"Prentiss," Morgan began slowly, "I can't see anything from this angle. Can you see what's in through the door?"

Emily tilted her head to the left and squinted, trying to get a view into the room. When she eventually saw into it through a tiny sliver, she immediately assumed she was hallucinating due to the shock of what had happened to her. But another glance through the door and she realised she wasn't. She gasped.

"Emily?" Morgan asked, suppressing a groan of pain, "What's there?"

"He's been on to us since the beginning." Emily mumbled quietly.

"What do you mean Prentiss?"

"Foyet's been preparing this for some time."

"What do you mean?" Morgan repeated, annoyance evident in his tone this time.

"Do you remember how Foyet met the victim he killed before he stabbed himself?"

"Err… well. No. All I remember is all that bastard's done to us since we met him. Care to fill in the blank's sweetheart?" Morgan added, to keep the tone a little more light-hearted.

"Foyet worked teaching computer science!"

"Emily, what does any of this have to do with what's through that door."

"Monitors, Morgan. He planned this from the start. I can see the conference room of the Enclave Suites, the crime scenes - at least the footage from the security camera of the scenes, even a computer store. Foyet's been monitoring us. He's had so much time to plan all of this. I mean, he obviously killed those girls to lure us here. And if we'd figured that out sooner, two of them wouldn't have had to die."

* * *

The dim lights shone on the amber liquid, the reflection almost hypnotic.

_How much longer would this continue? How much more had he left to lose?_

"Penny for your thoughts?"

He jumped, shocked out of his musings.

He turned to see the brunette, but not the one that had been haunting his thoughts.

"Breaking your own rule by drinking solo I see? And if you're going to get wasted, you might as well do it right!" His former agent said sliding into the seat next to him, calling over the bar tender as she did.

"6 shots of vodka, please." If the tender was surprised by her request, he didn't show it.

"But I've never known you to get wasted on a case."

"First time for everything, I guess." he muttered, running his finger around the rim of his glass.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked casually, reaching for one of the glasses, that had been placed in front of them.

"There's nothing to talk about." he snarled.

"Clearly there is, or I wouldn't be sitting here."

"Elle-"

"Hotch. We can sit here all night, or cut to the chase. Your choice."

He stared blankly ahead.

She sighed, unsure how to get through to him. "I may not be your subordinate anymore but it doesn't mean I'm not your friend-"

"Yes, and you've been a really great friend these past few years haven't you, Elle?" Hotchner snapped. "You've really been there for us, in Chicago, in Georgia, in New York. You've been there when the team needed their friends the most-"

"Hotch, stop! Ok I get it. I should have visited-"

"You think I care whether you pop in for a coffee? Catch up on old times? You made your choice when you didn't show up for your psyc eval."

She laughed bitterly. "My psyc eval? I remember you followed me that day right? Maybe if you'd kept a better eye on the team, _we_

would have had to come back when we clearly aren't wanted!" She stopped, eyes wide. "Hotch, I-"

"Save it Elle. I have better things to worry about."

"I'm sorry. I know this isn't your fault. It's just- Well no one is tell us a damn thing!" She said angrily. She took a deep breath. "Look all I've been told is Morgan and JJ are missing, and now Reid's gone too? Please just tell me what's happening."

He didn't reply instead taking a glass from the tray in front of him.

"Fine, think about it this way, the sooner you tell us, the sooner we leave."

Hotch pushed the tray towards her, still not looking at her.

Elle took a glass and waited for him to start talking.

"You'll find out tomorrow when we brief in the morning. Seven thirty, don't be late." he stood and headed for the exit.

Greenaway flopped back in her seat, sighing.

"And Elle?"

She sat up anxiously. "Yeah?"

"You forgot Emily. She's gone too. You'd do well to remember that."

* * *

"What are the PhDs you hold again?" Foyet asked almost conversationally as he busied himself looking through his bag for something. Not that Reid could see that, but his hearing was heightened due to the darkness.

Reid sighed a little, shifting once again. Foyet had yet to pin down the profiler to ensure no attempted escape, Foyet seemed to trust the drug's lasting effect on him. But Reid could recognise the signs of the dilaudid wearing off, and managed to answer coherently, speaking in Foyet's presence for the first time.

"Engineering, Mathematics and Chemistry." Reid replied without missing a beat, though his voice was hoarse. But he successfully evaded having it squeak in front of Foyet. That was the last thing he needed.

Foyet chuckled lowly. "I'm not sure which one will help you more under these circumstances."

Whatever Foyet was now doing involved liquids, oddly enough, of that Reid was sure. He could hear the sloshing of liquids as they were being poured.

"Are you ready for our little game, Dr. Reid?" Foyet asked menacingly. Reid could very much visualise the older man's malevolent sneer; he didn't even need to see Foyet's face.

But for fear of his life, Reid knew that he'd better answer. "What game?"

"I thought I'd have a pretty assistant to help me out, but we'll be doing this solo, Dr. Reid." Foyet explained, "But the game is very simple. I am going to hand you four vials -"

Reid could already feel his internal panic well up, _'VIALS?!'_

"- all containing a different substance, one by one. I will than ask you to choose your favourite. You'll still be blind folded, and the vials will be covered to mask any smell… one of them will have a very distinct smell."

Reid wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"So are ready for the game, Dr. Reid?"

Reid was going to nod his head before he decided to make his own conditions, "Am I the only one who will be playing this game?"

"Of course. I can't subject all of you to the same thing. The last few weeks on the run have given me time to think about my methods. And as much as I love my knives - in fact as a rule I never forget to carry one - after my six friends here in Orlando, I thought I could go a different route for the Behavioural Analysis Unit. A more unique and personal touch for each of you. Well, most of you. I wanted your last moments to be something you would never forget."

Reid was terrified of what that could mean for the rest of the team. And if Foyet was currently focused on him, did that even mean the rest of the team was still alive? He cursed himself for such a negative and morbid thought, but what else was he supposed to be led to believe? His thoughts were interrupted when a glass item was placed in his hands.

"Vial A," Foyet explained happily.

Reid felt the item with his hands, which was difficult as his co-ordination skills had dropped even more than usual with the hunger, fear and effects of drugs. The vial was surprisingly light, and when Reid titled it from one side to another, it didn't make the swishing sound he'd anticipated. In fact, it made no noise at all.

There was nothing in it. Apart from air.

Than, as quickly as it had come, it was gone again. And another vial was placed in his hands.

"Vial B."

This vial was much heavier than the first, with the contents clearly being liquid. Reid could hear the liquid splashing around slowly, not as quickly as water would. It felt much heavier and denser than average water from the kitchen sink, and Reid figured would be quite dangerous. He thought of an everyday item that Foyet could get his hands on that would be thicker than water, that could kill or poison the profiler. Bleaches, household minerals… but he had a feeling he may be missing the glaringly obvious.

Again, Foyet snatched the vial away and placed a fresh one in the agent's hands, before predictably uttering, "Vial C."

This one was not as heavy as the last, nor light as the first. It certainly contained a liquid, Reid's bet was ordinary water. At least, he hoped. It seemed by far his safest option.

He could hear the sneer in Foyet's face as he replaced it with, 'Vial D'. A little heavier than the last, but no where near as heavy as Vial B. Reid was curious if Foyet was smiling because 'Vial D' most likely contained drugs. Or, more specifically, dilaudid. Which also began with D.

"Take your pick." came the impatient voice of George Foyet.

Reid had to go with his gut - he wasn't guaranteed it was the safest option, but he knew it was the lesser of… four evils.

"C," he gasped, somewhat quietly. He could hear Foyet prepping a syringe next to him, and he prayed he hadn't made the wrong choice.

Foyet stuck the needle into the exact same place Tobias Hankel had three years previous nearly, and pushed down on the plunger with more force than was necessary.

"They say you're the smart one of the profilers… not that hard a job. But I guess they were right."

* * *

_As always, reviews equal love!_


	17. Picture: Perfect

**_Summary: _**_It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart': **__Reid was taken to the basement of a home by the Reaper, but not the same location as Morgan and Prentiss, who still have no idea that he's missing. Foyet than invented a new game, guess the vial. Which involved Reid choosing one of four things to be injected with without being told what was in the vials. Meanwhile, Morgan and Emily realised that they had been watched by Foyet from the beginning, Rossi deliberated Darcey's innocence (much to Detective Devlin's wrath) and Hotch let rip into Elle for her absenteeism. And Haley and JJ are still dead._

_**Author's Note: **__We're updating for a very special day - Matthew Gray Gubler, better known as the fantastic Dr. Spencer Reid turns the big 3-0 today, and it's Paget Brewster (Emily Prentiss)'s birthday tomorrow, so this is a double chapter for them for their birthdays. Hurrah for them! Without their amazing-ness, all this would not exist in the first place. So as for reviewers last chapter, thanks to Dicsi, Nymphadora-CullenBAU, Iulya, gemus, nexis44 and the-vampire-act. We're so glad you guys are enjoying the story! So this chapter particularly deals with Reid and Prentiss for obvious reasons… and Morgan too, because he's there! Sorry that Hotch and co. got excluded - next time! Enjoy, happy Matthew Gray Gubler day today and Paget Brewster day tomorrow!_

_X Cara and Ava._

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen - _Picture; Perfect_**

_"It is difficult, when faced with a situation you cannot control, to admit you can do nothing." ~ __Lemony Snicket_

Foyet re-entered the room, smiling malevolently all the while. Not breaking eye contact with the young profiler, he walked right up to Reid and slapped him right across the face. To his credit, although he flinched at the contact, he made no sound.

Foyet smiled approvingly, "Tougher than you look Agent Reid." He circled Reid, like a bird of prey. He than stopped just beside Reid, leaning right into the younger man before slowly whispering,

"Than again, you've been through all this before."

Reid fought to remain a neutral expression, wishing he had as much skill as Hotch had at doing so. Foyet deliberately leaned in as far as possible before slowly asking, "What was it like?"

Reid made the mistake of hesitating, and Foyet slapped him again. Harder.

"I said. What. Was. It. Like." He whispered again, sneering.

"What?" Reid asked, preferring to play dumb.

"You're not stupid, Doctor Reid." Foyet remarked, using Reid's title to emphasize this. "You know what I want to know."

Foyet must have been serious - he removed the young man's blindfold. Reid blinked furiously, his eyes attempting to adjust to the sudden light.

Profiler's hat on.

He was in a basement. The basement of an innocuous, still in progress suburban home.

There was a long flight of stairs (obviously the ones he had been pushed down) leading into the basement.

There was a large chest just under the stairs, heavily sealed.

There was a door not far behind Foyet, directly opposite from the end of the staircase, and there was a small trail of blood leading into it.

'_Every little detail counts, Spencer.'_ Reid thought to himself, and not trying to think about how that blood had ended up there..

Suddenly, he saw a gleam of light out of the corner of his eye. The sort one sees when a smooth, silver metal catches the light. Like a knife.

Foyet laughed lowly, the sound booming around the small room.

"I think we should try something different - don't you Spencer?" Foyet knelt in front of Reid - who didn't miss Foyet's use of his first name - and rolled up the left leg of Reid's pants. Reid was afraid of what was coming next, but could take a guess. Foyet cut through the material of Reid's pants and the only thing keeping his injured leg in good condition. Foyet sliced right up to the thigh, where Reid had taken a bullet a few weeks ago… where the bullet hole was pretty much still healing, despite only being a through and through.

But Foyet was one evil son of a bitch, as Morgan had said numerous times. And he wasn't about to break pattern now, and he than caressed Reid's left leg with the knife. Reid couldn't help squealing in pain as the knife penetrated his skin and the wound, and wished that his voice was an octave or two lower, so he didn't sound as pathetic as he already did.

After what felt like an eternity, Foyet removed the knife embedded in Reid's leg, and placed it just in the profiler's eye line. The dull metal object was now covered in crimson blood, which Reid could also feel running across his pain-seared thigh.

"I won't do any more damage," Foyet sneered, "Not when we have a game of 'Choose a Vial' to finish. You lucked out on receiving ordinary water last time, but what's to say your other choices are safer?"

Foyet allowed the silence to linger before he asked the inevitable, "Which vial would you like next, Dr. Reid?"

Reid paused before asking, "I suppose there's no chance of having another shot of Vial C?"

Reid knew there was no chance that Foyet would allow him the safest option again. In fact, his safest option wasn't entirely safe, considering the fact that too much water in a person's system could cause organ failure.

Foyet laughed a genuine laugh, obviously surprised at Reid's response. "Hasn't anyone ever told you 'variety is the spice of life', Dr. Reid?"

Reid knew he had only one other choice, the only one he was certain would not kill him. He may not like it, but he had beat it before, and he could beat it again. He paused, held his breath and uttered the words lowly.

"Vial D."

"Good choice," Foyet retorted, "I need to see to something else - play some more games. It'll be easier to detain you this way."

He grinned a sadistic grin, showed Reid the vial full of clear liquid before pulling down the plunger and injecting Reid with it.

As many others, including Reid himself, had done in the past.

* * *

"Hey, what can I do for you?"

"What, no witty greeting?" Rossi asked as he stepped into the lobby.

"Sorry. Hold on." Garcia paused, "Hola you have reached the greatness that is Penelope Garcia, speak and your wishes shall be granted! There, is that better?"

"Much better, thank you. We need a little bit of your cheeriness, every now and then."

"Thank you sir. So whatcha need?"

"Has anyone informed Will about the…. Situation?"

"Oh God! No- I don't think- no they haven't. He still doesn't know. Oh the poor thing!"

"Garcia, you have his number?"

" Yes, shall I send it to you?"

"This has gone on long enough, he shouldn't be left in the dark."

"Coming to you…. Now. Good luck," she said before ending the call.

David Rossi had never envied JJ her job; choosing which cases to present to the team, living with the knowledge that there were many more left to the local PD's to solve, often resulting in more deaths before the UnSub was caught, unless the files were finally put in a box and left on a shelf marked 'Unsolved', the questions that the family had left unanswered. Consoling the victim's families, informing them of the worst possible news, a loved one had been murdered, or taken. He had always admired her compassion, her ability to be both sympathetic and professional. He had accepted that if there was bad news to be delivered, she would be the messenger. Occasionally he would accompany her, looking grave and nodding at appropriate times before the inevitable questioning. Right now, he wished he'd paid more attention.

It was ironic, he thought as he dialled the number, that the best person to tell Will about JJ's kidnapping was…. JJ.

The line was filled with a deep southern accent "Hello?"

"Hi, Will?"

"Yes. Sorry give me one minute,"

Rossi could hear him in the background, "Put it down. Henry, stop! Mamma won't be very happy if she gets home and finds her favourite frame broken, now will she? Sorry about that. Can I help you with somethin'?"

Dave took a deep breath, bracing himself. "Will, this is Dave. Dave Rossi."

"Hey Dave, how's the case goin'?"

"Not as well as we'd hoped." _That's an understatement._ "That's actually….why I'm calling."

"Oh God, JJ! Is she ok? What happened?"

"She's been-" his voice faltered. He cleared his throat, forcing himself to continue.

_He needs to know, pull yourself together!_

"She's been taken by our UnSub. We're working on getting them back." _We will get them back_.

"I knew something was wrong. I kept telling myself she was busy, and that's why she hadn't called but…." Rossi heard a quiet sob. "How long- How long's she been gone?"

"About two days."

The line was silent. "Thanks for letting me know Dave. If there's-"

"We'll keep you updated as much as we can."

"Yeah. That'd be good."

Rossi could hear Henry gurgling happily in the background.

"I'll leave you get back to Henry."

"Yeah, ok."

"Will. We'll bring her home."

"Sure...."

"Not losing your faith in us are you?"

"A 'course not. I'd better be going, Henry's been trying to feed himself. The peas ended up pretty much everywhere but his mouth."

Rossi chuckled quietly at the image.

"JJ's always been better at gettin' him to eat..." Will stopped his voice catching. "Anyways, I'll let you get back to work. Thanks again for calling."

It was then that it dawn on Rossi that they had to get their media liaison back. She was better at breaking the bad news. She was needed, and she was most definitely missed.

* * *

_No,_ he thought desperately, _that can't be right. She... she promised..._

_"Derek, are you ok. Did... did he hurt you?" _

_"I'm fine. Emily, look at me, ok? Whatever happens, just keep looking at me. Promise?"_

_"Now I know things are bad. You never call me Emily."_

_"Promise, no matter what you'll keep looking at me."_

_"Ok, I promise."_

_"Stay strong, Emily."_

And she had been strong; she had refused to cry and plead with Foyet. Even after everything she had worn her mask, the mask that she had at every crime scene, looking at pictures that would break even the most decorated agents. But still he feared he might be right

_"What? I could do with a laugh right now." _

_"Well you say you're a Vonnegut fan," _

_"Yes, and? Wait, wait! Derek Morgan are you....challenging me?"_

_"Yes, I do believe I am."_

_"Right, what do I get when I win?"_

_"Very sure of ourselves, aren't we?"_

_"Bet your sweet butt I am. Come on what's my prize?_

_"I'll buy you coffee."_

_"Yeah and the rest! Coffee doesn't cut it."_

_"How about dinner, Agent Morgan?"_

'Of course', Morgan thought bitterly, 'just when I was starting to get through to her again.'

_"Emily. Remember our deal, right at me, look right at me." _

_"Emily!" _

It was as she struggled to free herself from her bounds that Morgan realised that she'd broken her promise.... not once since that bastard abused her had Emily Prentiss looked at him.

* * *

Sighing she got up reaching for her mug. "Coffee. Lots and lots of coffee." she muttered, heading for the door. "With sugar. Lots and lots of sugar." She thought of Reid, with his morning cup of coffee-flavoured sugar. She bit her lip, reaching the door. "Really strong coffee." That brought to mind another, another team member.

Emily's voice filled her head. _"DC time Garcia." _

_"11.17am."_

_"DC. Decaf."_

"Right, coffee now. Before you start seeing Bon Jovi. Not that that would be a bad thing." she said to the empty room.

She pulled open the door, and stepped into the deserted hallway. A loud beep called out from behind her. She spun on her heel, and stared at the offending screen.

_1 new message ….Garcia_

She hurried back to her desk, all thoughts of coffee forgotten. With a shaking hand, she reached hesitantly for the mouse and clicked on the little box to open the message.

A blurred screen appeared on the monitor, a screeching filled the room, like metal on concrete.

"I thought, since I finally had a moment to spare, that it would be time to share my progress with a friend of ours…" came the unmistakable, cruel voice of George Foyet.

The camera turned towards a plain unpainted wall. A tall man was tied to the pipe, hands above his head, a gag in his mouth, bruises covering his chest and stomach.

"Agent smile for the camera."

The man raised his head.

"Oh my poor baby!" Garcia said, covering her mouth in horror. "Derek…"

"Agents, lets see if you remember this case." A buzzing echoed, like a taser.

Foyet walked towards Morgan, a lead trailing from his hand.

"Your SUV has been more useful than I could have ever expected."

Morgan tried to move away but his handcuffs halted him. The Reaper stepped closer, blocking Garcia's view. She saw his hand moving down.

"Get the hell way from him!" she wailed. "Morgan!"

Morgan kicked out, but Foyet deflected his aim and grabbed his leg, stepping closer, until all Garcia could see was Morgan's face. It suddenly contorted in pain and he

let out a muffled groan. She could hear a woman screaming in the background, but it was distant and she couldn't tell who it was.

"No, my love. Not until you." he reached out and grabbed Morgan's arm. "Guess. The. Case." Each word was punctured with a moan and buzzing.

"You can't remember?!" he yelled. "Are they that insignificant, that you can't remember the cases?"

Garcia frantically opened another screen and opened the file containing all the cases that the team had taken on,

"Electrocution, which sicko used electrocution?"

The answer appeared on screen just as she heard Foyet reply to the muffled shriek,

"Philadelphia, that's right my darling."

He reached over and holding the charge to the tall man's chest, smiled "Time for a new case don't you think?" Morgan's anguished cry was stifled by his gag. The sound of it broke Garcia's heart as she watched Morgan twitch and shake, before falling limp, held up only by his crossed arms.

* * *

Had she the ability to, she would have pounded on the door and cried out with all her heart, just so she could offer some moral support. She would have screamed with all the air in her lungs, if she wasn't gagged.

But she couldn't. And every time he cried out, she could feel her heart break a little.

It was all her fault. She put her own family above everyone else. She never knew what she was getting herself into.

Blood trickled down her head, and she felt herself losing consciousness, again.

She knew she may not get through this in one piece, but she had to.

She had the answer to one question everyone else had seemingly forgotten.

* * *

"_Wakey, wakey Derek. There's work to be done, cases to be solved. Or should I say re-enactments to be solved. Your lovely colleague solved the last one, now it's time for you to repay the favour." _

He opened his eyes, everything was blurry, unclear. He closed his eyes again. Sleep. All he wanted was sleep, it blocked out the pain, helped him forget. Yes, he decided, sleep was good.

"_Wake him up, or he's dead." _

"Morgan, please wake up…." her voice was enticing, but the pull of oblivion was too strong.

"Morgan! No, no-, not again NO! MORGAN HELP ME, Please, Derek help me!!"

His protective instincts took over. He opened his eyes, franticly searching for her.

She was lying on the floor, Foyet sitting close to her, blocking Morgan's view.

"Prentiss?" he called, his voice weak.

There was no reply.

"Emily! Answer me!"

Foyet stood, still in the way. Morgan tried to move, tried to catch sight of something, anything that would tell him she was still ok, but his body screamed in protest. He tries to stifle his groan.

"Morgan? Are you ok?"

"Emily, I'm here."

"You bastard, Derek! You scared me! You just passed out, I thought… I thought you were-. I thought I was the only one left."

"Hey, hey, hey. Prentiss. I'm not going anywhere, you can't get rid of me that easily."

"That sounds like a challenge to me, Agent Morgan." Foyet commented, watching the exchange between the two friends.

Emily glared at the man who was standing completely unaware in front of her. Wincing, she moved herself a little further along the ground. Foyet didn't notice.

She took aim and-

"Bitch!"

Foyet fell to the ground, startled. He stood and faced her.

"_Crap."_

It wasn't until she kicked Foyet behind the knees that she realise how weak she had become. Normally a blow like that from Emily Prentiss would result in somebody unable to get to their feet for several minutes in which time they would ordinarily be handcuffed and ranting about the unfairness of the situation or pleading innocence. This time it resulted in a very pissed off UnSub.

He smiled at her. "Now that Agent Morgan's caught some shut eye, I think it's time we continued our little game."

He walked towards Emily and grabbing her arm, before once again untying her bounds and dragged her up until she was standing. Her legs were weak and she knew that if he let go she would fall. He lead her to the middle of the room. Letting go of her he allowed her to get her balance before aiming a kick to her ankles. She gasped as she hit the ground, all her weight centred at her already injured shoulder. Foyet then lashed out, kicking any part of her he could reach.

Morgan's yells a soundtrack as she tried to stay conscious.

"Morgan," she called, insuring he could see her before continuing." I can take it."

* * *

Another box appeared, with another taunting note.

_1 new message….Are you ready for some fun, Penelope?_

Shaking she opened the message and once again a screen emerged,

The camera had zoomed in so all that could be seen was the chest of a woman, she too was badly bruised, her shoulder obviously injured, probably dislocated.

She scanned the image for a lock of hair, anything that might tell her who it was, but once again there was nothing.

She was helpless, all she could do was sit and watch.

Foyet stepped towards the woman and once again blocked Garcia's view of everything.

"What's the point of sending me this, if your just going to stand in the way?" Garcia yelled, throwing her troll doll at the screen, it's green hair fluttering. It made a satisfying bang.

This was the way she could help them. Like she had before, if she saw anything distinguishing in the background, they could narrow down where they were being kept.

Than she could bring her babies home safely.

* * *

Morgan stood helpless. He desperately tried to think back over all the cases they had worked on. There were dozens.

Foyet had once again tied up Emily, but this time she too was standing, her arms held above her head, tied to the ceiling beams. Morgan could tell that she was in agony having her shoulder twisted that way, with the added weight of her drooping body only making it worse.

The Reaper stepped towards her, before removing a knife from his pocket. The edge was bloodied, and Morgan did not want to consider whose blood it was. JJ's throat had been slit, after all. Foyet stepped nearer, until he was uncomfortably close to Emily.

"What about this case? If I took my makeshift scalpel -" he held, the knife out again, the blood taunting the two profilers, "- and sliced right here?" Emily visibly flinched as she was virtually groped by the sadist.

"Cut out this beautiful woman's heart? Of course I don't have a son to lure her, but you get the gist of it don't you?"

Morgan could recall the case - it was the first case they'd worked without Gideon. But he couldn't recall a name, or location…

How long did Foyet plan to play this sick game with them for?

"How hard can it be to think of the case, Agent Morgan?" Foyet taunted. "Perhaps I should give you a little more of reminder." he said. Prentiss flinched as beads of blood formed around the already bloodied knife.

Even at the sight of her in pain, he couldn't remember.

"Still nothing? How about I enlighten you further?" The Reaper said, smiling as he angled the knife more horizontally. Morgan knew that he wasn't planning on cutting her, not with it positioned that way. Emily whimpered.

"No? Too bad......"

* * *

Garcia turned away from the screen, sobbing, blinded by tears as a scream of agony blared from the speakers into the room.

* * *

_Come on... it's a special two days. Show us the love!_


	18. Brawls: Madness

**_Summary: _**_It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart': **__Four BAU members were captured, tortured and some were killed. Nasty. Hotch tore Elle a new one, like seriously. Reid was drugged during the vial game, Morgan and Emily played guess the case with special guest star Garcia, and Rossi called Will to tell him JJ was missing. Little do they both know, she won't be coming back in one piece. Not by a long shot. Will the team ever find their missing members?_

_**Authors' Note: **__Well, here we are with a super-speedy update *cough* as usual. So last we updated Cara was off to England; this time, Ava's off to France at the start of next week to improve her French. So we decided we'd best get together before that happens. We must seem like we go here, there and everywhere, but to tell you guys the truth, we don't really. It just seems that way. Honestly. But anyway, since we last updated, not only have Paget and Matthew aged a year, but so has Cara! *Ava claps, Cara looks at her embarrassed* So there'll be another delay for the next chapter… don't you guys hate us? Especially when you read this chapter. You will hate us. So this chapter contains zero physical whump (well, except on one occasion), but quite a deal of angst, rants, fights and analysts going crazy. No chocolate Adonis or three legged kitten (all will be explained) but plenty of Meanie-Pants-Boss-Men and quietly-insane analysts. Also, hopefully this chapter should give us our 100th__ reviewer, so our 100__th__ reviewer will get a little behind the scenes scoop. We'll give them a taster of a part we have pre-written already, but not posted. But when we say 'sneak peak' we mean sneak peek. But better than nothing right? Of course if we get super nice reviews, we may make an exception! So sit back, enjoy and ahem, perhaps review. Oh and for some of Rossi's later lines, maybe pinch your nose shut and read them. It may make more sense! Oh, and warnings for spoilers all through the series… we'll shut up now._

_X Cara and Ava._

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen - _Brawls; Madness_**

_We have a choice every day - to act on yesterday's good intentions or get an early start on tomorrow's regrets_. ~Robert Brault

It was tense; there were no other words for the situation that the remaining profilers and OPD Detective found themselves in. Everyone looked among themselves, from one corner of the table they were seated at to the other, waiting for someone to break the silence, and explain the situation.

Rossi was one to finally do it.

"How familiar are you with the case of the Reaper?"

Both Elle and Gideon looked a little thrown by the question, but Elle recovered quicker.

"The Boston Reaper?" she enquired.

"Yes," Hotch replied, "What do you know about it?"

"Not much," Elle admitted, "I remember hearing about it in passing. I was going for sex crimes at the time."

"I remember the case." Gideon input, "I didn't work it but I remember that you did, Aaron-"

Hotch almost snarled at Gideon using his given name.

Gideon paused for a moment before continuing.

"That case was over ten years ago. A narcissist, he hit cars on the roadside by using some form of a ruse. A lost tourist, a police officer, the possibilities were always endless. But how does the Boston Reaper relate to any of this?"

Everyone was silent for a moment trying to figure out how to even begin explaining the Reaper's involvement, but it was Hotchner who spoke up. His tone was not unlike the one he'd had when speaking to Elle the night before; brash, hostile, harsh.

"Well Jason, perhaps if you hadn't gone off gallivanting to some remote area of the States where they don't have television, maybe you would have known that we caught the Reaper - one of the 'victims', the only surviving one, stabbed himself to get himself involved in the investigation. The name George Foyet ring any bells? We figured it out and apprehended him but he'd had ten years to plan this… escaping was no problem for him, he had maps of all the local county jails! Ten years to plan - if you thought Frank was bad -"

"Aaron." Rossi said briskly, bringing Hotch back into reality, "I think he gets the idea."

"So this is Foyet's revenge? For what?" Elle asked curiously.

"I refused to stop looking for him." Hotch said reluctantly.

"That's your job though," She replied, "not to stop looking for these scumbags."

"That's not how he saw it. 'You stop hunting me, I'll stop hunting them'."

"Wait - that sicko promised to stop looking for people?" Elle asked, surprised.

"That's why he went off the grid for ten years. Tom Shaunessy made a deal with him."

"He made a deal with the Reaper?!" Gideon spluttered. "That's against protocol."

"Really? I would never have guessed…" Rossi mumbled.

"Well Jason, if you'd stuck around long enough you'd know that."

"Okay!" Detective Devlin interrupted, finding the courage to speak for the first time since he'd sat down. "We get it. He left. You're still pissed. Meanwhile, I have one officer dead, and one MIA. Can we please focus?"

The profilers stared at him incredulously.

"What? The profilers didn't predict that I'd eventually snap?" Devlin snarled.

Most of the profilers stared at Devlin in shock, apart from Rossi, who had a look of admiration on his face.

"Okay. Let's start from the beginning of the current murders." Rossi agreed.

Devlin nodded, stood up from his seat next to Rossi and walked over to the board with the victims, "Ivy Stevens, Georgia Everett, Cara Casey, Lacey Jones, Ava Quinn and Evangeline Dillon. All brutally stabbed… like the original murders."

"All stabbed for each year of their lives." Rossi input, rising to stand next to the detective.

"All except one." Hotch interrupted.

"Lacey Jones." Devlin nodded.

"The Reaper broke pattern." Rossi observed. "Lacey was fourteen but stabbed nine times."

"And that's significant why? Maybe he didn't have enough time for the last five." Gideon interrupted.

Rossi motioned for Gideon to stop before he finished what he was saying. Elle looked horrified, muttering a large variety of expletives. Hotch stood up, calm and serene for a moment before turning to Devlin,

"May I?" he asked slowly.

"Fine," Devlin sighed reluctantly, "Just this once, and make it quick."

Hotch turned to Gideon once more in his seat, and none of the profilers had ever seen him look more dangerous.

"Because Jason," Hotch began in a low voice, "It was his way of getting to me."

"Getting to you how?"

Elle moaned quietly next to Gideon, and the others stared at Gideon in disbelief.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer." Hotch replied, his voice quiet, but dangerous none the less.

Gideon looked to Rossi first for an answer, and when he got no response, turned to Elle. Glancing around, she mouthed _"Later."_

"Back to the case." Devlin said before things could get out of hand.

"And than at the Evangeline Dillon crime scene, we found out that the Reaper had… discovered Haley's location." Rossi said uncomfortably.

"And than that evening I got the call." Hotch input, before adding bluntly. "He had JJ and he was going to kill one of them."

Elle gasped.

"And Agent Prentiss was taken not long after Agent Jareau." Detective Devlin added, before sadly continuing, "And he killed Cameron, who was on protection detail with Agent Prentiss."

"Cameron?" Elle asked.

"Officer Cameron Garvey. One of the two junior officers I had working the case." Devlin replied.

Elle and Gideon looked around bemused, before Elle asked the inevitable, "There are no junior officers here. What happened to the other police officer?"

"We'll get to that later," Rossi explained hastily. "So than we were given the choice; JJ or Emily to die."

"Well who did you pick?" Gideon asked expectantly, looking to Hotch.

"I made the same choice Reid made when he was in a similar situation." Hotch replied stiffly.

Elle looked perplexed before asking, "What does Reid have to do with this?"

Before Gideon had the chance to answer, Hotch cut across him.

"Well if you had stayed a few cases longer rather than going off vigilante, you'd know what I meant. Even Jason knows, ask him." Hotch snapped.

"Oh so you were on your book tour for that one?" Elle asked Rossi.

"You're breaking the rules!" Devlin input to Hotch who had forgotten their bargain.

"Wouldn't be the first time!" Elle snapped, subconsciously rubbing where she was still scarred from Randal Garner's assault the last time the team had broken the rules. Gideon immediately picked up on the meaning behind the words and his face fell.

"Elle, you don't have to keep bringing it up," Hotch snapped, "I was there, I remember, I cleaned your blood off the walls!"

Rossi and Devlin looked at each other, before Rossi spoke, "What the hell?"

"Don't look at me," Devlin input, "I haven't understood the conversation topic since we were talking about my junior officers."

Elle glared at Hotch, "Oh I'm crying on the inside. Who cleaned up your blood after Foyet? Since you drove your wife away with work."

Hotch sneered at her.

"Yeah, I watch the news." Elle smirked, "Unlike Gideon."

"Don't bring me into this!" Gideon input defensively.

"You started this! You had to push him!" Elle snapped.

"You left first!"

She laughed bitterly, "Yeah that breakdown you had have something to do with women troubles? Like anyone could stand your cheery face long enough to stay the night."

Jason Gideon was normally a calm man, but Elle's ignorance pushed him over the edge. He stood up and began to advance on Elle, towering over her as she stayed seated, only to be stopped by Rossi, who sprinted from the victim board to the side of the table the two ex-profilers were seated at.

"Quit while you're ahead Elle. You have no idea about anything that happened after you left." he said dangerously.

"Apart from you going postal and leaving?" she hissed, rising to her feet.

"Jason stop!" Rossi yelled grabbing his arm. Gideon gladly fought Rossi, before punching him in the face with all his might. Rossi immediately slackened his grip and grabbed his nose, attempting to staunch the fountain flow of blood coming from it. Detective Devlin took this moment of confusion as his cue to grab hold of Gideon. He leapt into action, hurrying from the victim board to the table, and grappled the older man. Gideon fought again, but not as willingly against the detective.

"My God, Jason," Elle sneered, grabbing Gideon's attention with the use of his first name, "What are you on? I didn't know they allowed drugs in the BAU. Oh wait, you quit!"

"You're one to talk, at least I didn't kill anyone in cold blood before leaving. Self defence. You keep trying to convince yourself that that's what it was." Gideon hissed.

"Would you both listen to yourselves? You're both as bad as the other!" Hotch bellowed over the petty arguments, "You're like children. You both left. And left us to deal with the consequences. After you both left, Strauss was always breathing down our necks. She worked a case with us after you left Jason."

"I would have paid to see that," Elle sniggered.

"Well, you were gone. Jason was gone. Emily and I had both briefly left-"

"You both left?" Jason asked, eyebrow raised.

"-and so that left only Morgan, JJ, Garcia and Reid working the case. And you know who Strauss was keeping an eye on." Hotch replied bitterly.

"What do you mean by that?" Elle asked inquisitively.

Hotch turned to her and replied, "Like you said earlier Elle. They don't allow drug-taking in the BAU."

Elle looked at Hotch in shock, her eyes almost popping out of her head. "Who?" she asked mutely. She turned to Gideon, who had looked down in shame.

"Jason who was it?"

No one spoke, it was eerily silent.

"Someone tell me," she shrieked, slapping her palms on the table as she glared at the men before her.

"Well maybe if you'd been here…" Hotch replied acidly.

"Quit playing games!" Elle cried in frustration, "Someone just tell me."

Rossi looked nervously at Devlin, well aware that this wasn't something they wanted more people than was necessary to know.

Another moment's silence passed, before it was broken by a ringing cell phone. Hotch watched Elle collapse back into her chair and bury her head in her hands as he reached for his ringing phone.

"What?" he barked into the receiver.

Rossi, who was standing next to Hotch, heard a very flustered Garcia on the other end.

"Spit it out Penelope!" Hotch snapped.

More nervous talk from Garcia's end, though Rossi couldn't hear the words being spoken.

Hotch's glare turned icy as he snarled into the phone, "I haven't time for this if you can't even string a sentence together Penelope!"

As soon as the words were spoken, Hotch took the phone in his hand, and hurled it across the room. He ignored it when it began to ring again from across the room, instead turning to the three profilers and detective and asking, with sarcasm laced in his voice,

"Now. Where were we?"

* * *

Garcia tried to switch off her internal panic as she scanned through the video footage for the millionth time. It wasn't working.

"Calm down Penelope," she said to herself, "It's not that bad. I mean this is concrete proof my chocolate Adonis has abs of steel. He can take a hit. And he's okay. I mean, I should be happy. He's still alive. I didn't see him die on camera. I mean how bad would that suck… I've already heard him being blown up. And I've already seen one of the cavalry die on camera, but then he was resuscitated by the psycho who killed him in the first place. But that isn't Foyet's game."

Garcia paused for a moment. "Penelope, it's time for another quick break."

She turned to the numerous photos of adorable animals plastered to her wall and exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Much better. But I'm still talking to myself. Well, that can't be helped. They chose to leave me by myself. I have to talk to someone. And it's better I talk to myself than to that kitten on the far left, as cute as he is. Maybe I should get a basket of kittens to put in here, cheer things up a bit… wait. Than they'd poop in my office. So no. No kittens for me. Goldfish. Goldfish are always good. They don't poop… or do they? I mean, where does it come from? A little tiny hole… how the hell do goldfish have babies anyway? I mean I've heard of doggy-style, but goldfish style? That's just plain weird."

Garcia paused again. She mentally slapped herself.

"Half of the team is missing and I'm wondering how goldfish mate. Wonderful. What will Derek think when -"

She paused once more, the enormity of the situation hitting her all over again.

"Damn." she sighed, and than she turned to the troll doll next to one of her many computer screens. "Time to focus, right Eugene?"

No answer.

"That's right Eugene. You know things are bad when I start talking to myself. And troll dolls. At least it's not kittens though. Or goldfish. Okay, back to the super-huge-ginormous task at hand. Bring back those babies of mine."

Garcia searched through the video feed again, compiling all she knew.

"Okay. I've seen my chocolate Adonis. He isn't lying in a ditch somewhere. He's in a little concrete room. It's not a shed this time - or graveyard. Now that was creepy. And either JJ or Emily is with him. Foyet is trying extra hard to make sure I can't see who it is. Jerk-face. But… no Haley. That's not good. Poor Hotch-man."

Garcia froze, having thought of something else.

"No Junior Hotch-man!" she cried, scanning through the feeds. "Foyet you sick bastard! Please tell me you haven't sold him. How much could he get on the black market for the Junior Hotch-man. Eww Penelope! Sick, sick thoughts! Well, not that I was considering buying or selling him. But maybe I should check online. Just in case. Although it's not like I'll enter 'Jack Hotchner' into a search engine on Ebay and get many hits. So no. No wasting resources. That's bad. And no wasting time. That's bad too. But what has he done with Hotch's Junior G-man…"

Garcia almost cried when she remembered something else, "What about MY Junior G-man?!" She looked more thoroughly through the video, trying to console herself. "He's okay. He'll be okay. He came back from the dead before. Another time won't hurt. Not that he is dead. I mean, he survived anthrax and getting shot, in the same month. He's like a cute kitten with nine lives. And three legs. Well, not that Reid has three legs, that could be taken in a bad way. Dirty minded people. What I meant to say was one of his legs isn't of much use. Well he still has it, but can't use it. Why am I explaining what I meant to myself?" Garcia stopped.

"Maybe this situation is making me crazier than I realise. Not that I blame me. Usually it's one at a time. Four is a bit excessive. Plus Mrs Hotch-man and Junior Hotch-man. Well, ex Mrs Hotch-man. Not because she's dead, but because they're divorced. She's not dead 'til the fat lady sings, and I don't see Strauss hitting the high notes anytime soon. I'm glad Strauss isn't here to hear that, I'd be so fired. Not that she's been rushing to help in this crazy, insane, crazy situation. But she'll yell at the end that we did something wrong, when she just sat in her big office while we all slaved away. Maybe that's why she's so grumpy… she's on a diet. Or off coffee! That always made JJ grumpy!" Garcia exclaimed. She paused.

"Makes, makes her grumpy. JJ's okay, and me and Reid won't have to resort to godparent duties and god-parenthood. Man JJ's going to have a fit. Well not literally, because having a fit would be bad. Fits in general are bad, when Reid had a fit it was bad. He needed CPR. Because drugs plus getting beaten up plus hitting your head really hard on the floor equals seizure. And death, which sucks. But hooray for CPR! But yeah, fits are bad. But JJ will have a mini-fake one when we find her. Three coffee-less days. God help Foyet… well no. I don't want that jerk-face having anymore help than necessary. We need help. He needs to be locked up for a million billion years and the key thrown away. And no pictures of cute kittens to look at. He'd probably only stab them anyway. Not that he's stabbed any of the team he has, because that would be bad. Because stabbing leads to leaky holes, with blood like, leaking out. And no blood in the body is bad. So no. No stabbing for Foyet."

Garcia stared at the screen again in silence, before quietly asking, "Where are you my merry-band of profilers? Sitting there… in that little concrete room. With those stupid beams… pipes… electrical sockets… stupid cans of paint. Why would there be cans of paint in a warehouse no one's using?"

She paused. "Penelope - you're brilliant! We've been looking at this all wrong! He's not in an abandoned warehouse, or a graveyard! That little concrete room!"

She quickly opened up a map of the city of Orlando, cross-referencing it with what she suspected. While she waited for the results, she called her Boss-man, glad to finally be able to give some good news.

"This is it Eugene!" she smiled as she heard the dial tone. "My chocolate Adonis, three legged kitten, grumpy JJ and Emily Princess are about to be found, along with the Hotch-mans."

Garcia was thrown when the reply she received was a harsh, _'What?'_

"Sir? I err, well, I -" Garcia attempted to reply, completely flustered.

"_Spit it out Penelope!" _The tone was still harsh, cold, and it deflated the temporary high of the Technical Analyst. She once again tried to speak, only to find she'd lost the ability.

"I… he… Foyet… and they… the room. The stupid paint cans, boss-man. Well, what I mean to say -"

"_I haven't time for this if you can't even string a sentence together Penelope!"_

"Sir -" Garcia started, only to be met by the dial tone yet again. "He hung up on me."

Garcia was near tears at the way her Boss-man had just treated her when she had some good news for a change. "…no one hangs up on me. Not even Supervisory Special Agent Aaron-Meanie-Pants-Hotchner." she chuckled as she thought of a new nickname for her boss.

"Just between me and you Eugene," she confessed to the troll doll. "I'll show that big Meanie-Pants-Boss-man what I'm made of." She tried to call Hotchner again, but received no reply.

"He's going through a rough time too," she reminded herself. "His family, chocolate Adonis, three legged kitten, coffee-less JJ and Emily Princess are missing too. Well no… he's my chocolate Adonis. No coupling for Hotch and Morgan. That is gross. It'd be like Emily and JJ being a couple. That's ew. Besides, there's a Will. Where there's a Will, there's no way."

After several failed attempts, Garcia gave up on Hotch and called her new-favourite-non-missing-non-deserting-profiler.

'_Herro?'_

"Sir?" Garcia asked, surprised at the muffled voice that answered Rossi's phone.

'_Han' on.' _he replied, _'Meh noph iph beedin'. Loudspheaker.'_

"What?" the analyst asked, "Why is your noph beeding?"

'_Garthia, do you like your dob?'_

"Yes sir," she answered slightly confused, "I like my dob."

'_Don't bock the po-file-arr.'_

"Yes, all-knowing profiler David Rossi who never abandons me and always answers my calls. And who doesn't yell at me when I have good news. And who puts me on speaker."

'_Gad I tould helt.' _came the muffled reply.

'_Good news, Garcia?' _Elle's voice enquired.

"Don't talk to me." Garcia replied, "And don't pull that face. I may not be a profiler, but I know."

Garcia distantly heard a mumbled, _'How the hell did she know that…'_ from the other end to tell her she was correct.

"One stinkin' year of forgotten memories, my good detective. Not much has changed, you're still predictable Greenaway. Anyway, back to the great news. Where have you guys told me to send search parties?"

'_Abandoned warehouses?' _came Gideon's response.

"Yes, but you don't talk to me either. I have a feeling that you're the reason my favourite profiler-slash-author's pretty noph iph beedin!"

'_Garthia…'_

"I'm on your side sir!"

'_Penel-'_

"Don't you talk to me, Supervisory Special Agent Aaron-Meanie-Pants-Hotchner. You didn't want to talk to me five minutes ago. It hurt."

'_Can you talk to me?' _the detective asked hopefully.

"Of course sweetie, you sound nice. It's like the Garthia, Rotthi and Devin thow."

'_Garthia.'_

"You like the sound of it too sir?"

Elle's voice came through the line, _'was she the one who was doing drugs?'_

"Watch it." Garcia warned, "Some people wouldn't find that joke funny. Like my three legged kitten."

There was an awkward silence before Devlin realised someone had to say something, and he was one of the few people on the other end who actually could, or was allowed.

'_Well that sounds a great… a kitten with no sense of humour? What was the good news?"_

"Watch it, or you'll get kicked off the show." Garcia warned half-heartedly. "So anyway, the good news. I was watching the video footage again, which was no easy task let me tell you."

'_Did you recognise anyone?"_ Hotch asked. After a moment's silence, Devlin asked,

'_did you recognise anyone?'_

"Just one, Detective," Garcia replied sweetly, "My chocolate Adonis."

'_Huh?'_

"Sorry - Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan. No one else is recognisable. Except for one thing. There's pots and pots of paint. In the little room. The room is always dark. Pipes, low lying beams. What does that sound like?"

'_Baphmenth!'_

"That's right sir, and where would you find an empty baphmenth? With plenty of privacy to do icky icky things?"

'_A house?'_ Elle input.

Garcia didn't ignore her this time, replying, "Close."

'_An empty housing estate!' _

"Correct-a-mundo Detective! This is why I like you. Rotthi, can we get the detective to replace Meanie-Pants-Boss-Man. He's nice."

'_I'll thee whaff I can oo.' _came the reply.

'_Dave…'_ came the warning from Meanie-Pants-Boss-Man.

'_Miss Garcia!' _the detective cried.

"Ah, man of my own heart. Such manners, and my name called with such affection. You called, my love?"

'_There was a housing estate built recently, but they can't sell the houses. The gaslines are supposedly dodgy. Mallory Drive. They've pretty much been abandoned.'_

"That's what came up on my search." Garcia replied.

'_Foyet would have the whole estate to himself.' _Hotch input, _'He wouldn't have to worry about noise.'_

"Not exactly." Garcia said, "According to this report from a day ago, a person living nearby was complaining about someone coming and going all hours of the night, but was glad when a police cruiser arrived to stop the situation. According to the report, the cruiser is still there."

'_Does it give a plate number?' _the detective asked urgently.

"Yes my favourite detective." Garcia replied, "I353."

There was a long pause at the other end before came the quiet reply, _'That's Cameron and Darcey's cruiser.'_

* * *

_Again, we took poetic license with the plate. Plenty of strange methods went into writing this chapter. From pillow punching and slapping, to pinching our noses shut. And Garcia's view on fits in actually taken from one of the funniest you tube comments of all time. We salute the person we stole it from. And we though Garcia might have gone a little crazy this chapter, but she's allowed…_

_Reviews are love…_


	19. UnSub: Cornered, Part I

_**Summary: **__It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart': **__Most of the team have been kidnapped and tortured. The rest of the team now know their location. They need to find them. Fast. But time is running out…_

_**Authors' Note: **__We're baaaaaack! And thanks to some of the well-wishers - Ava did indeed enjoy her time in France! And we are so sorry to the reviewers of Chapter 16 - we were in such a rush last chapter that we forgot to thank the reviewers in the last authors' note. So here's the combined list: __Dicsi__, __jessalynnGSR__, __Iulya__, __imajazzbandnerd__ (our 100__th__ reviewer!), __Nymphadora-CullenBAU__, __gemus__, __nexis44__, __the-vampire-act__, __Spark Shark__, __MwandishiMsanii__. Sorry we forgot you guys last chapter, but thanks to you who reviewed regardless! Ah loyalty… speaking of which, it was Ava's Criminal-Minds-anniversary this month, though we aren't sure of the date. We do know that Cara's is May 1__st__ though. Ah, so much obsession in just one year. Time flies! So things are coming a head right about now for the team and the final showdown is not too far away. So sit back and enjoy our latest addition guys, hopefully you guys will enjoy it! Also thanks to Officer Kate Glenn from the OPD website, without who we wouldn't really know what their uniform looked like..._

_X Cara and Ava_

* * *

___**Chapter Eighteen - UnSub; Cornered. Part One.  
**__  
William Shakespeare once wrote in one of his most famous tragedies;  
__"To be, or not to be: that is the question:  
__Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer  
__The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,  
__Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,  
__And by opposing end them." _

Hotch stared at the aging detective in shock before asking, "Are you absolutely certain?"

Devlin nodded. "Completely. It's the cruiser we discovered was missing earlier. I'm 100% sure."

Hotch nodded, "We need to get a team ready to raid the estate."

"I'll contact the local SWAT officer," Devlin input, "And see if I can a SWAT team to join us. The area itself is actually surprisingly far from here. Without traffic, around forty-five minutes. But it'll be traffic peak times at this stage, so we'll need to allow at least an hour." He than turned, and promptly left.

"Aaron, please don't leave us on the sidelines for this," Gideon pleaded, "They were our friends once too."

Both Elle and Gideon looked at the Unit Chief imploringly, and he sighed as he sensed himself losing this battle.

"I'll call Strauss," he sighed, leaving the room. Gideon followed him, determined to talk him around at any costs.

Rossi sighed as he strolled around the conference room, content with the knowledge that they were finally closing in on Foyet. They finally had the upper hand. As he took this all in, he strode past the victim board, his foot kicked against something and it got tangled around his foot causing him to lose his balance. He groaned, his knee hitting against the corner of the victim board, and was now throbbing, in addition to his nose, which was still spurting impressive amounts of blood. He looked at the offending object in question.

"What the-?" He looked down, and seeing a crumpled navy lump picked it up.

"What's that?" Elle asked, glancing back.

"It's a- shirt?" he said, holding it up, and as he did so, he noticed that one side was much heavier than the other. He looked at the shirt in confusion, checked the shirt pocket but found nothing. He looked up in bemusement at Elle, who proceeded in taking the shirt from him and turning it inside out. As she did so, they both noticed the badge on the left shoulder bearing the words 'Orlando Police'. Rossi felt his stomach turn, as he realised that the shirt was too small to fit a man. It was a female police officer's shirt.

Probably their missing female officer's shirt. But why was it here?

Rossi opened his mouth to say something, but Elle placed a finger over his mouth to shush him. Rossi looked at her incredulously, but she slowly lowered her finger to point to the inside of the shirt.

* * *

Foyet stormed into the room, his stance a strange mix of frustration, excitement and disappointment. Morgan groaned. He could still feel the strain in his arms from being held up by them for so long. What did Foyet want with them, with him now? Hadn't he caused enough damage? Morgan knew he wouldn't get any satisfaction if he 'played' with Emily now. He'd done all he could to the brunette…

"Our time together seems to be very limited now Derek." Foyet said with a sigh. Morgan had to suppress a strange sound that was someway between a hysterical laugh and a distraught sob. Why couldn't their time have been limited a few hours prior? Than Emily would have… no. He wouldn't think about it anymore. But why was their time limited now? Before Morgan had a chance to ask, Foyet as per usual stepped into his personal space and caressed his knife against the profilers cheek, the same knife that had killed six innocent young girls and had hurt two of his friends more than he had cared to imagine. He could see the blood still encrusted on its blade, and it made him uneasy.

"What's wrong Derek? Does it concern you that I've used this knife on three of your friends?" Foyet asked maliciously.

Morgan had to fight to remain a neutral expression. For a moment he panicked that Foyet had somehow gotten hold of another member of the team, than he calmed himself down. Was he just referring to Haley? Was he counting her along with Emily and JJ? Or was he talking about all those months ago, when he stabbed Hotch nine times? As bad as his thoughts were, Morgan hoped that it had been one of those occasions. Just as long as the rest of his team were safe now.

He thought of Garcia, first and foremost. He knew the Reaper would never have had the chance to get to Quantico and back again, despite the amount of times he had come and gone during the profiler's captivity. He could breath a sigh of relief. His baby girl was still safe.

For some bizarre reason, Rossi popped into his head next. Morgan felt that the eldest profiler was perhaps the most unlikely to be the next target. He wasn't as young as he used to be, but since he had joined the team and come out of retirement he was the only member of the team who hadn't been in life-threatening danger. And that was quite an achievement. But than again, Rossi was also the profiler Morgan had spent the least amount of time with. With this team's luck, his would be bound to run out soon. Worst case scenario, would he be able to with stand the torture that Morgan had been subjected to?

What about the team's resident bad luck magnet? 'Pretty boy' as he sometimes called the youngest profiler. That kid's health insurance was sure to have been through the roof - he wouldn't be able to afford it if he got kidnapped and tortured again. Just a month ago he had been exposed to anthrax and shot - within mere weeks of each other. He had just come back to work after contracting anthrax, worked one case, and got shot halfway through the second (though to Reid's credit he did manage to solve the case while stopping the blood leaking from his leg at the same time. Just like he managed to give them his location when he was involuntarily playing Russian Roulette with Tobias Hankel).

But Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner was undoubtedly the Reaper's favourite target. Would he save the team leader for last? Would he wipe out the whole team before he turned his attention to the man he hated so much?

Why was Morgan having such morbid thoughts of his team all of a sudden? Perhaps because he'd already seen them in mortal peril more times than he'd like. And their outrageous fortune was not going to last forever. He flinched as Foyet dug the knife deeper into his cheek, obviously not satisfied with the lack of reaction he'd gotten thus far.

"I think you and dear Emily have gotten more than your fair share of fun -" Foyet began, before Morgan cut him off with a sour, "You think?"

Foyet didn't take the interruption too kindly, and calmly raised his knee in the direction of Morgan's groin - hard. The profiler coughed and spluttered as he tried to catch his breath, and Foyet placed his knife into the leather sheath attached to his belt loop. How very Robin Hood of him, Morgan thought bitterly. Too bad he didn't steal from the rich and give to the poor, and just enjoyed stabbing others in his spare time.

As Foyet neared the door, he looked back and grinned malevolently at the FBI agent. "I'm sorry that our time together has come to an end, I did enjoy it. Especially the lovely Emily Prentiss's company. You're as idiotic as your boss, you should have taken our deal. Just like Agent Hotchner should have taken his." He sneered, looking at the crumpled heap in the corner, "I guess now you'll never know."

"You sick bastard!" Morgan cried, trying in futility to break through his bonds. The Reaper laughed again.

"I better be going - I'm sorry Derek, but this is where you and I part ways. Such a shame, we may never see each other again…"

"Tragic." Morgan hissed, trying not to read too deeply into his words.

Foyet's grinned broadened, "I wish I had had the chance to say farewell to Emily, but unfortunately I need to go. I have another profiler in my clutches I need to take care of before the shit really hits the fan!"

Morgan was left absolutely speechless, and his mind was now working overtime with worry at Foyet's words.

* * *

Rossi and Elle stared at the shirt in shock, and Rossi felt horror coursing through him. This couldn't be right - there was no way. Devlin was going to freak out and deny it - but perhaps the detective knew more than he let on. He had been quick to defend the young officer when Rossi had first speculated her involvement.

"How about we get some coffee?" Elle asked pointedly.

Rossi looked at her confused momentarily, before understanding what she was doing.

"Ok," he replied, his voice not quite the same since his nose had been victimised. He glanced back at the shirt mumbled a soft, "Ha." He carefully placed it on the conference room table, making sure it didn't bang against the surface. The pair walked briskly out of the room and walked straight into Gideon and a very severe-looking Hotch.

"Where's the fire?" Gideon asked, sarcastically.

"We're getting coffee." Elle stated, blocking the door.

"Great, two sugars no milk." the balding profiler said trying to push his way past.

"No!" the brunette exclaimed. "_We _are getting coffee."

"All of us," Rossi said pointedly. "We can't carry all the cups ourselves."

"That's why they provide little trays…"

"Are you being deliberately dense?" Elle whispered in frustration. "Out. Now!" She put her hands on each of the profilers chests, and pushed them - hard.

Glancing back to make sure the shirt was still on the table, Rossi quietly closed the door before following the miss-matched trio.

He could hear Jason's perplexed "I thought you wanted coffee!" as Elle forced them into an empty room.

Rossi briefly contemplated not joining them and reporting strange noises coming from conference room 3; Jason deserved it, but Hotch looked as if this coffee-run was working his last nerve as it was, and Rossi thought better of it. He didn't want Aaron to have an aneurysm. They needed all the profilers they could get.

"We found a shirt in the conference room," Rossi said, bluntly. Hotch and Gideon stared at him in surprise.

"What has that got to do with your shoo-ing us out of there?" Gideon asked, a little annoyed.

"There's a wire on it. A microphone. Foyet had ears on us."

Hotch stared at him in shock. "Whose? Do we need to -"

"It belonged to Officer Miles." Rossi replied coldly.

There was an awkward pause before Hotch asked the hard question; "Are you sure?"

"Certain. There was no way that the shirt belonged to anyone other than a woman. And only one female police officer has worked with us throughout the duration of the case. It may be hard to accept, but it's the truth." Rossi sighed.

"You left Reid alone with a crooked cop?" Gideon asked outraged.

"Well if we knew she was a crooked cop we wouldn't have left him with her!" Hotch snapped.

"Hang on - why was her shirt there? Just carelessly strewn in the corner of the room?" Elle asked, curious.

Everyone looked at each other awkwardly. Hotch sighed, "The Reaper seems to have developed a liking for dark-haired women."

"What are you talking about? I thought he was an omnivore? A predator to anyone he crosses his path?" Elle retorted.

"I think I know what an omnivore is Elle. I did work the original case after all. I meant all these latest victims."

Rossi nodded his understanding, "Black hair, brunette, brunette, blonde, brunette, black hair. Only one victim was blonde."

"How do you remember that?" Elle asked in surprise.

"We have spent quite a considerable amount of time staring at the victim board. I'd like to think I'd know something by now."

"It could just be a coincidence. I mean approximately 2% of the worlds population have naturally blonde hair!"

They stared at her, dumbfounded.

"What? I worked with Reid too. For a year. You pick up habits."

"You think it's a coincidence that both Reid and Emily have brown hair? And JJ was a blond? He's starting a pattern. The blond is the one that catches our attention. After Lacey Jones, the blond victim, we were called in. That's too much for a coincidence."

"You remembered her name?" Elle asked quietly.

"Like Dave said. We were staring at that victim board for a long time before anything ever happened."

The tense atmosphere was broken by the detective entering the small room, looking around in surprise.

"I heard raised voices," he said by way of explanation, "Has something happened?"

"Have you been into the conference room?" Rossi asked quickly.

"No," the Devlin replied, "I came straight in here to see what all the fuss was about. What's going on?"

"I'll tell you what all the fuss is about," Rossi said darkly, squaring up to the OPD detective, "We found your police officer's shirt in the conference room. With a wire attached to it. Care to explain?"

The confused detective looked from one profiler to the other before slowly saying, "…Darcey?"

"Good to see that you came to the same conclusion we did."

"She is the only officer I have left working this case!"

"You don't find that suspicious?"

"Are you implying that she had something to do with Garvey's death?"

Hotch interrupted, "No, I think we can safely assume that wasn't her."

"Yeah," Devlin input, "Poor kid was so upset after that. Those kids were close. For just being partners. Although they did work together for a year."

"Yes, we saw that when we had dinner with them." Rossi said quietly.

Devlin looked a little hurt, almost like a dejected lover, "You had dinner? I wasn't invited."

"I wasn't invited either," Elle snapped, "Can we focus on more important things?"

Devlin still looked hurt.

"Look I'll take you out to dinner!" Elle snapped, "What did SWAT have to say?"

Devlin blushed slightly, "I'm married."

"Detective Devlin focus! What did SWAT say?" Hotch exclaimed in frustration.

The detective looked a little embarrassed before taking on a new business-like tone. "They're slightly tied up at the moment, hostage situation downtown. Nothing to do with our case."

"I'm sure the hostages are deeply relieved." Rossi added dryly. Devlin shot him a dirty look before continuing.

"They can spare one man and equipment -"

"That's really helpful." Elle snorted.

"It's the best I could do!"

"I bet he's a rookie?"

Silence.

"Guys that was funny!"

Hotch asked the important question, "When can we head out?"

"Immediately." Devlin replied, "The van's out front."

* * *

Reid could feel the effects of the drug slowly wearing off. It was a mixed blessing, he thought he'd heard pleas for help, but he himself was helpless to do anything. Whether or not those cries were from the present or from a case past, Reid didn't know. But he did know that real or not - they weren't easy to listen to.

He heard the door at the top of the stairs slam shut, and the creak of each stair as his antagonist inched his way closer to the young profiler. Foyet eventually reached the last step and walked into Reid's eye line.

"How are you feeling Spencer?" Foyet asked compassionately. Even in his semi-drugged state, it cause Reid immense unease. Foyet? Compassionate? There had to be something more sinister behind it.

When Foyet received no reply, he took his foot, raised it a little and kicked the profiler in the chest. Reid felt himself panic; it was so familiar. His chair tipped over and he hit his head on the ground. Hard. He momentarily weighed his options - seizure, death and CPR from Foyet? Or just seizure and death? At least he wouldn't have to suffer any longer…

Foyet leaned down towards the profiler and before he spoke, Reid actually prayed for a seizure. Anything that prevent anymore pain - addiction, loss, physical pain… he just wished it would all end. Little did he know, things could be for him very soon.

"Bring up any memories for you, Dr. Reid?" Foyet asked smirking, before adding, "We have a game we need to finish."

Foyet reached into his pocket and pulled out Reid's blindfold, and for the first time seeing what he had been plagued in darkness with. He felt himself blush as he remembered Darcey's long fingers removing the navy tie from around her neck on their last encounter.

Foyet placed the tie around his head, and Reid was grateful that Foyet couldn't see the tears that were seeping through the dark material.

"You have two choices left. And neither look good for you. Short and sweet or long and painful death? Your choice. A or B?"

And there it was. He really wasn't going to get out of this. He weighed out his options. Short and sweet or long and painful? The coward's way out or hope that he'd be found in time? Or would he only prolong his suffering? He was almost certain what each vial would provide him with. It was only a matter of choosing. How did he want to live his final moments? As a coward he had been for all those months? Or the brave FBI agent his mother believed he was? He made his decision quickly after thinking about his mother.

"B." he said, though it was almost a whisper.

Foyet smirked, and Reid heard his preparing his doom. From nowhere in particular, Reid heard a choked sob.

"That whore will be disappointed." Foyet said coldly, detached. "And so should you. You never got what you really wanted from her."

He paused and Reid heard honest happiness in his voice for the first time when he sighed softly, "I did. Not that she was very willing. But she stopped screaming and resisting after the first few times and finally accepted it."

Reid blinked in shock, trying to take in what the sadist was telling him. As soon as he had gotten through his head, he felt Foyet slide the needle into the crook of his elbow.

His mind flashed with images; people and their expressions. His mother's face while she was being institutionalised. His father's face when he left. Hotch's face when he found Reid crouching over Tobias' unmoving body. Morgan's face when Hotch introduced Reid as the newest member of the team. Garcia's face the first time Reid rattled off some random statistic. Elle's face when she realised the arsonist she was describing sounded exactly like Reid. JJ's face when she handed Reid his godson. Emily's when he snapped at her one of the first cases after Georgia. Foyet's just moments ago.

But most prominently, Darcey Miles' face when she had drugged him; a mix of regret, remorse and wishful thinking. What team was she playing for? What had Foyet insinuated? What was the female officer hiding? Reid's last thoughts were of her before he slipped into a quiet oblivion…

* * *

The five law enforcers, former and present, stepped out of the hotel for the first time since the former BAU members had arrived. The air was cold, bitter for Florida, although it was still winter. They had spent so much time of their 'briefing' arguing that the moon was now out, though the sky was dyed an odd purple colour. Twilight. The darkening shade of blue of the sky mixing with the numerous glowing streetlamps.

The SWAT van was almost immediately outside the hotel, and some curious guests were peering out from their balconies to get a better look. Standing in front of the van was a young man, if the profilers had to guess, they'd say early thirties. He was already decked in his SWAT get-up, much to the alarm of some passing guests. A loud whisper of, "I told you we should have gone to Georgia instead of Florida!" was heard being uttered by one of the passer-bys.

The newly reconstructed team gathered around the officer. He was a little shorter than Rossi, but he looked weak by no means.

"Charlie," Devlin greeted him, "How's the family?"

"Good," the SWAT officer replied, "Juliet's been a little under the weather lately but that's to be as expected. I keep telling her she has only three months to go but she says she can't wait to get the damn thing out of her."

"My wife was the same second time round," Devlin confirmed, before adding, "and third. How's the little man?"

"Good! Hoping for a little brother of course. As long as it's healthy, we don't mind. Oscar doesn't see it that way though, and is eager for a little brother to play with."

The pleasantries ended there and it became all about business as Devlin introduced the SWAT officer. "Special Agents Hotchner and Rossi, former Special Agents Gideon and Greenaway, this is one of the best SWAT officers I know - Officer Charlie Sierra."

"Pleasure," Hotch said out of habit more than anything as he shook the man's hand. The man seemed nice, sure, but he couldn't help wishing they could have met in any other situation. "FBI Section Chief Director Erin Strauss has cleared former Agents Elle Greenaway and Jason Gideon for field action, temporarily at least as we are short on man power."

Officer Sierra nodded. "You've all had previous experience in this field quite obviously? That certainly makes my job a little easier. Can you guys get suited up and ready to go pretty soon? I'll drive the van to our destination - we'll discuss details on the way. You have equipment of some form I assume?"

"Yes," Rossi replied. "We have enough Kevlar vests for the team. There are usually six of us in the field, but we only need five at the moment as one of our team members was incapacitated."

Another nod. "Okay than. I'll fill you out on the way there and you can let me in about the son of a bitch we're dealing with. Let's go."

* * *

_As always, reviews equal amour, as it is in French!_


	20. UnSub: Cornered, Part II

_**Summary: **It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:** Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart': **Most of the team have been kidnapped and tortured. The rest of the team now know their location. They need to find them. Fast. But time is running out… Haley, JJ, Officer Cameron Garvey... the death toll is rising fast. And after this chapter, will be getting a little longer._

_**Authors' Note: **Cara would firstly like to apologise for the lack of replies to the awesome reviews you guys have been leaving. :( Sorry for yet another delay guys - at this stage we guess you wouldn't believe us if we said that was Cara was in Italy? It's true. We really aren't spoilt though… Okay promises being made guys. Cara's off school now, and Ava will be in two weeks. We'll try not to take so long between postings. Try… damn pesky real life, always getting in the way… Shout outs to; Spark Shark, CMAli, Nymphadora-CullenBAU, imajazzbandnerd, the-vampire-act, nexis44 and Iulya. Sorry for the wait guys, but admit it - we do bestow you guys with lengthy chapters. Oh also, our 100th reviewer should recognise a part from this. ;) Enjoy chapter nineteen you guys, feel free to throw your theories and thoughts in a review shape afterwards!_

_X Cara and Ava_

* * *

_**Chapter Nineteen - UnSub; Cornered. Part Two**_

"_Every choice you make has an end result." ~__Zig Ziglar_

"Wow," Charlie said as he overtook more cars at the speed of light, "so this Floridian killer we've been looking for is the infamous Boston Reaper? The one who escaped prison a few months back? I'd never have seen that coming."

"Well, neither did we," Rossi admitted from next to the SWAT officer, "Which is why we were a little unprepared for our team being abducted."

"So what now?" Elle asked from the back of the truck.

"Well," Rossi sighed, "if that wire was active, than Foyet knows that we're on the way, and he may have prepared. But there's six of us and only one of him."

"I thought it was possibly two." Gideon interjected. Devlin narrowed his eyes.

"Innocent until proven guilty." he mumbled.

"We can't forget that either way, Foyet has plenty of leverage." Hotch added. "We need to remember what he's capable of."

They sat stewing in uncomfortable silence for a few moments before Rossi couldn't stand it any longer. "How much longer until we get there?"

"Well Charlie? What do you reckon?" Devlin asked the SWAT officer.

"Not too far. Just another few turns. We've made it here in plenty of time, seems luck is on our side."

"For a change." Rossi added.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but all the flights to Florida are fully booked, I could try and fit you in on another flight this week if that would be convenient for you Miss."

"No it's not convenient for me actually, if I thought a flight some other time this week would work for me I would be trying to book a flight for some other time this week, but I'm not!"

"I'm sorry Miss but..."

"Arg!" Garcia yelled. "Just...never mind!" she exclaimed before hanging up.

* * *

The profilers could feel the immense relief as they pulled up to the housing estate. Mallory Drive. Such an innocent name. But they all knew it was highly possible that anything but innocence had happened here.

Elle looked at the estate in disbelief, "How many houses are here?"

"Two dozen, give or take." Devlin replied, "They originally planned more, but rumour has it the gas lines are a bit faulty. They couldn't sell the ones they'd built."

"So they just lay in wait for something like this to happen." Rossi groaned.

They stood in silence for a moment as they surveyed the area. Houses sparsely spread around the place, with individual large gardens. The six of them would take hours to clear the whole area.

Almost as if they were thinking the same thoughts, Hotch was the one to make the big decision.

"We need to split up," Hotch concluded, "there's too many for us to search as a group. We have no idea where any of the others could be being held. We need to search all of the houses individually, we don't have any time worth wasting. Keep your connections clear, we need to be able to keep in contact, more now than anything."

The three profilers nodded, as well as the Detective and the SWAT officer.

"We should use code as well, so the Reaper doesn't know that it's only our team," Rossi added.

"What sort of code?" Elle asked.

"How about military phonetics?" Devlin suggested.

"That works," Rossi agreed, before pointing to each of the team and telling them their assigned codename, staring with Hotchner, "Alpha Hotel, Echo Golf, Juliet Golf, Kilo Delta, and err, Charlie Sierra."

The SWAT officer chuckled. "Doesn't matter either way does it? But I have to disagree with Agent Hotchner."

"Disagree with what?"

"If the Reaper is going for your team, I don't think splitting up is the best plan. Perhaps it would be better searching in pairs?"

Hotch nodded, "That may be a better option Officer Sierra. You start on the west side with Agent Rossi. Jason, you're with Detective Devlin. You start at the east side. Elle, you're with me. We'll search the more centred houses. Everyone keep your lines free, and every time you clear a house, state the number so we'll know we have one less to check."

* * *

_It could have been me... _

_Elle..._

"Elle! are you listening to me?"

"Hmm?" she was quickly brought back to the situation at hand, by her one-time friend and unit chief, "Sorry Hotch, um yeah, I got your six. Ready?"

The brief, tense silence was deafening. "It's clear!" He seemed almost disappointed.

She sighed ruffling the hair that had fallen over her face, she pushed it back impatiently.

"Emily used to do that sometimes." Hotch commented, as they walked on.

Elle noticed his use of the past tense, his mental preparation of what they might find.

"Check this one." Elle said quietly, tilting her head. "Something doesn't seem right... the footpath... something's off." Subconsciously, she rubbed her chest, her fingers sweeping over the memento from the case that changed everything.

He nodded for her to go first. Slowly she moved for the door handle, pushing it down slowly... the door opened. It wasn't locked. She turned to Hotch. His eyes shone in acknowledgement. This door had been used - recently.

The house was quiet, eerily quiet.

Raising her hand, Elle signalled for Hotch to follow her. Slowly opening the door she "ok"-ed the room. The kitchen was large with a wooden table standing in the middle.

Hotch walked over to the sink, before slamming his fist down on to the counter.

"What's up?"

"There's water in the sink, where it hasn't drained. The tap isn't dripping..."

"Son of a bitch was here." she muttered shaking her head

A floorboard creaked. Elle turned around slowly, before tensing, her fight or flight responses kicking in.

"Aaron..."

* * *

Charlie and Rossi had immediately turned on their heels and headed to the left, rushing to the last house. Rossi looked at the ground as he felt soft trails in the mud below him. Foot prints. He held a finger up to halt Charlie, who immediately trotted to his side.

"You think this is the place?" Charlie asked in a low whisper.

Rossi nodded. "One of them at least, if he isn't keeping them together. Let's check it out first before we call the rest in. You see if there's a way in at the side door. If it is Foyet, he'll more than likely have the main door booby-trapped. I'll go around back."

Charlie was sceptical, "Are you sure it's a good idea to split up?"

"It'll only be a minute," Rossi assured him.

"Ok." Charlie said as he walked away from the agent. He walked around the left hand side of the house, while Rossi walked around the right. He hadn't even made it around the corner when it happened. He was so surprised, he didn't even make a noise. It was just a shock to the system. As David Rossi walked around back in the hope of rescuing his team, SWAT Officer Charlie Sierra was impaled by a fireplace poker.

* * *

There was a loud banging above them.

_Soon_, he thought, _it'll be over soon_. His eyes pricked at the realisation. Never again would he "talk dirty" with his baby girl, or tease Reid about, well, everything. Never would Hotch lecture him about not trusting the team and putting himself in danger. Never would he and Rossi share a drink after tough cases.

He let the tears fall.

"Derek?" a hoarse voice called.

He turned to the rustling, to see large eyes looking back to him in confusion.

"What's happened? What did he do?"

Morgan laughed humourlessly. "He's gone. He left!" Tears trickled down his scarred cheeks.

There was another loud bang, followed by footsteps.

Emily moved slowly to sit against the wall, wincing as she inched further along.

"Emily? I want you to- no. I need you to know that...that I'm sorry."

"What?" she asked, massaging her temples. Her head was pounding.

"I'm so sorry... I should have been able to stop..." His words caught in his throat, and he let out a sob.

Seeing the strong black man hanging from the wall in an obviously painful position-sobbing, shattered the brunettes already fragile heart. Never had she seen Morgan cry. No matter how bad the case, how young the victims, he never broke down.

Their time together was limited. She was ashamed to admit to herself that she was afraid of the man before her; she was afraid to approach him. She refused, however, to let fear ruin the last moments she had left with her friend, the remainder of her family. Slowly she crawled her way over to him, her head screaming for her to stop, to keep away while her heart begged her to keep going, reminding her that she'd regret letting fear rule her final moments.

She stood up, leaning on the wall for support praying the dizziness would go away.

"Em...?"

She reached out, placing a shaking hand on her fellow agents shoulder.

"Never apologise for what happened. There was nothing you could have done." she said to his shoulder. End or no, she couldn't bring herself to look at him, and it tore her apart. She looked at his scars and her hatred for George Foyet increased.

She chuckled. "Chicks dig scars."

"So I've heard." he looked at her, really looked at her. Her hair was matted and a complete mess, falling out of the ponytail she'd tied it in all those days ago, she was pale, with dark circles under her lowered-eyes and tear tracks marring the dirt on her face. She was playing with the frayed edge of the make-shift sling, attempting to comfort and distract herself, the profiler in him decided. Her chest was a bloodied mess. He grimaced as he remembered Foyet hacking at her chest as she screamed in agony...

"I should have done something! I'm meant to be the protector, and I just watched every time he..."

"Ssshh." Emily whispered, slowly sliding down the wall, she was so tired...

"I'm sorry about the coffee..."

"Hmm? What coffee?" she asked, slowly stroking Morgan's knee, needing to touch him, reminding herself that he was still there, no matter how alone she felt.

"Reid and I charged coffee to your room."

"You did what?" She yelled looking up at him. "I'm so glad I was missed. What are you going to do now? I can't pay it back. There isn't a cash machine lying around in here!"

" I know, " he said a faint smile on his blemished face. "That was kinda the point, we figured you'd get off scot free."

She started to laugh hysterically. "Strauss's face when she sees coffee charged to a dead woman's room."

Her words reverberated in his head. _I'm so glad I was missed...coffee charged to a dead woman's room_

"Don't say that!"

"Morgan, I'm accepting it. We aren't getting out. And after everything we've seen, do you really want to?"

He thought once again of the team, his baby girl, the boss-man, Rossi, the boy genius, his mom and sisters...

"They'll find us."

"That's not answering the question." she chuckled, quietly.

"Yes, I do." he decided

"Than your braver than me" she said sadly.

The thumping above them started to become more rhythmical and persistent.

"Prentiss, who was it that said "When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on?"

"Thomas Jefferson, I think. Why, what's ropes got to do with anything?"

"It seems appropriate." Morgan said, trying no to think of how close the thuds seemed to be coming.

_Not long left..._

"Emily, you need to go back to your corner." the tall man said reluctantly.

She looked up on shock, "I'm not leaving."

"You have to, if he comes back and sees you he'll... I don't wanna think about what he'll do. Please Emily." he pleaded, "For me?"

Slowly she hesitantly got to her feet, before resting her hand on his now marred cheek.

He leaned into her touch before whispering "Go,"

Sitting back on to the hard concrete, she stared at the door.

"This is it, isn't it?"

"I think so."

"Derek-"

"Emily-"

All thoughts were interrupted by the door slamming open.

* * *

Oblivious of the goings-on around him, Rossi crept silently near the unfinished home. It was on the fringe from the rest of the activity, the sort of place where anything could be happening within its contents, but nobody would be any the wiser. Around the back of the house was a pair of doors leading to the underground shelter, a basement. Rossi was quite surprised to find that the doors weren't even bolted shut.

Suddenly, David became aware of the sound of soft footsteps on the grass beneath him. He quickly turned around, only to be greeted by nothing more than a wild fox; silently skulking at the back of the unfinished garden.

Feeling slightly reassured, but unable to rid the feeling of anxiety within him, David knew what he had to do. Keeping his gun trained for anything unexpected, Rossi slowly opened the doors leading into the dark and dreary basement. Quickly proceeding to take out a flashlight to see where he was going, he took one cautious step into the basement.

He heard another set of footsteps, but this time he didn't get the chance to check. He heard a gun fire, and he felt himself being propelled forward in the motion.

David Rossi tumbled down several steps before losing consciousness at the bottom.

* * *

It had been quiet for too long. Far too long. Long gone was the sound of hushed and murmured voices, of one sided fights, of the most torturous thing one could listen to.

She had heard loud bangs after the murmuring had subsided, something that made her seriously panic internally. What was going on out there? What had he done now?

It was the unknowing. That was the torturous part of the situation. She didn't know what damage she'd caused. Who had died by her hand. Who had been tortured because of her part in this.

She regretted it. She did. She may not have held the knife, but she'd helped trigger the events that had led to this, all because she cared about her family. Perhaps too much, but there it was.

After a few moments of unbearable silence, she heard the creaking of each step as someone ascended them, the careful shutting of the door. Careful shutting? He was a narcissist. He needed to advertise his comings and goings.

Was that it, was he gone for good? Had the final showdown come, where the two cowboys walk six paces before firing? Would he be back after that?

Her mind was left, reeling. And than, almost as soon as he left it felt like, when she heard the door creak open slowly again.

That wasn't him.

Someone had come to investigate. The door didn't even sound like it had been closed properly, when a cowboy seemed to fire prematurely. Gunfire filled the air, and she could hear someone tumble painfully down the stairs, and crashing heavily into her prison. The door was flattened in the process - she was free.

This was it. Her chance to right what wrongs she could. She had to find him. She had to make him pay for what he'd done.

There wasn't any time to lose. Feeling the slightest twinge of guilt, she stepped over the limp body, deciding that there were more pressing issues at hand. But not before spotting something that she was lacking, and put the item in a spot reserved for her own. Just in case.

As she made her way up the steps, she knew one thing; some shit was about to go down.

* * *

Gideon groaned as they finished checking yet another empty house. Once again he called into his walkie, "Kilo Delta and Juliet Golf again. We have another all clear."

Once again, he received no reply from either end.

Devlin joined him after carefully shutting the door to the semi-detached house and noticed the former profiler's unease. "What's wrong Jason?" he asked.

Gideon was slow to respond. "I thought they'd get over their petty grudges long enough to respond."

"They haven't been responding to our clears?" Devlin asked, an eyebrow shooting up to his receding hairline.

"No," Gideon replied. "Hotch did the first few times, and Rossi didn't at all. I think Hotch just got fed up of having to hear my voice again. It has been a long time."

He was kidding himself, Devlin realised. He didn't want to have to admit that something was really wrong.

"You need to be realistic Jason." Devlin realised. When he got no response other than the older man staring into space, he tried a different approach;

"You think we should call in for back-up?"

Gideon turned around to face him again, "Would that be possible?"

Devlin hesitated before speaking. "Since this case was opened we've had six dead civilians, a mother and child abducted, one cop killed, another vanish, not to mention the four missing team members of the BAU. Getting back-up for this case would be understandably tricky."

Gideon's face clouded and he looked around him fruitlessly, "How is one UnSub capable of doing this much damage?"

* * *

"Don't you know who I am?" she asked trying top sound more important than she felt.

"Sorry ma'am, I don't..."

She groaned, "I am Special Agent Penelope Garcia, with the FBI. It's of the utmost importance that I am on the next flight to Orlando."

Strictly speaking that wasn't true, she wasn't technically an Agent, but if it got her on that plane, she was willing to improvise.

"The FBI? Wow, not meaning to be disrespectful or anything, but don't you guys have private jets? Why do you need a commercial..."

She rolled her eyes. Why couldn't he just book her the damn flight instead of playing twenty questions.

"Haven't you heard of _discretion_? Jeez, trying to be subtle here!"

"I'm afraid that all the seats have been booked, there may be a cancellation, if you leave me a contact number I could called you should that happen..."

Stretching, she sighed and reached for her mouse, she didn't want to have to do this, but..."Now, I know you're lying. I can see that seats 213, 54 and 89 are free. So how about you charge one of those seats, any one I don't mind, you chose - a seat near the window would be great though. Got it? Great, you charge the seat of your choice to Erin Strauss, but the ticket is for Penelope Garcia. Now you do this and I won't send an anonymous email to your girlfriend and your boss's husband, telling them what you two have been up to on the late nights when you should have been working. Trust me, that video is _ugh _and the camera angles are really unflattering. Never go into the porn industry sweetie."

She heard a gasp of horror. She smirked.

"Alan, I'm not seeing your cursor move. How to start it... Dear Andrea, I thought you ought to see..."

"Ok, ok I'm doing it!" There was silence before, "it's booked, flight leaves at 9.20. Have a pleasent trip."

"Ha, chance would be a fine thing," she grumbled, thinking of what was awaiting her.

"Agent Garcia, your not really going to send those emails are-?"

She hung up leaving him stuttering his excuse to the dialling tone,.

"Hang on my babies, I'm coming."

* * *

Rossi slowly regained consciousness. His head was really sore.

The stairs. He remembered. He fell down a lot of stairs. He'd been… shot?

Rossi looked down in shock to see if there was a pool of blood beneath him. If he'd been shot, why didn't it hurt as much? Wasn't being shot generally painful?

Than a thought struck him. The Kevlar vest. Bullet resistance.

Why was it so painful to think?

David had an overwhelming desire to vomit. He shakily got to his feet, and examined his whereabouts. He looked directly in front of him to see that damn staircase. Behind him was a small closet, the door of which he managed to break upon impact. The lock on the door was hopelessly destroyed. Why was the door locked? Rossi walked into the room to see droplets of blood everywhere. Foyet had been holding a captive here? Had Rossi unwittingly let someone escape? Rossi continued his exploration.

In the middle of the room, stood a chair, with ropes severed on them. Someone had been bound there. And the ropes had been cut with such carelessness, Foyet had certainly been in a hurry. Next to the chair lay a bag. Remembering he was a trained investigator, Rossi pulled out some disposable gloves and slipped them on. He dug into the bag and was surprised to hear the sound of glass clinking together. He carefully pulled out four test-tube like vials, all with a cork on top. All were empty, two with traces of a clear liquid at the bottom and one with ruby tinted liquid. Rossi's blood ran cold when he found something more sinister - syringes. Recently used. What had he walked in on?

Turning slowly, Rossi looked again towards the damn stair case. When he spotted what lay under the stair case, his stomach churned, and he immediately new who had been held captive. There under the stairs lay a large chest, evidently large enough to hold someone captive within it. Upon the chest, there where two crutches, crossed over one another. Rossi took a deep breath, pushed them aside and removed the heavy lid from the chest.

He wasn't prepared for what he was greeted with.

* * *

_Reviews are love?_


	21. Profilers: Cornered?

_**Summary: **__It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart': **__Most of the team have been kidnapped and tortured. The rest of the team now know their location. They need to find them. Fast. But time is running out… Haley, JJ, Officer Cameron Garvey, SWAT Officer Charlie Sierra. The death toll is rising and will be getting bigger. What did Rossi find? Who was coming for Morgan and Emily?_

_**Authors' Note:**__When we set the bones of this story back in November, we didn't think we'd still be going after Christmas. We didn't think the response would as good as it was. We didn't think we'd be posting around the time of Cara's birthday, not to mind Ava's. Yet here we are. It's June 20th, and Ava's birthday is the 22nd. Crazy huh? Now you guys have to review for birthday love! We know there will be a delay after this one, (Ava's birthday week involves a big party and going to Dublin for a concert) but at least we know now! Shout outs to paper. creations, CrimStudent47 , Iulya , PrincessHotch , the-vampire-act , nexis44 , CMAli , Nymphadora-CullenBAU , jessalynnGSR , Spark Shark & imajazzbandnerd . We're fairly sure that's the biggest response we've gotten from any individual chapter! But we are blackmailing you to give us reviews as birthday gifts. That's right. We played the birthday card. We may give you guys a little gift of our own. Within reason, we will either give you guys a little preview or answer a question for you guys. BUT nothing that will give too much away. :)_

_We're guessing you guys heard the Emily and JJ news! :o Okay we may have killed JJ, and done terrible things to Emily but we love them at heart and they can't ditch them! It's craziness! Oh well… better quit before we have a full-fledged rant on our hands._

_Sorry about the slow updates amigos… but just remember how lengthy out chapters always are I guess? And how action packed at the moment! Read and enjoy!_

_X Cara and Ava._

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty - Profilers; Cornered?**_

_A moral from one of Aesop's fables reminds us; "Those who suffer the most, cry out the least."_

Seeing them shy away from the open door, is something Elle Greenaway was certain she would never forget.

She was first to enter the room, the first to see the damage, physical and psychological.

Her eyes fell first to the heap in the corner, dark head resting on limp arms. Elle needed no introduction, this was the much loved Emily. She looked around the room, a rancid smell burning her nose. A smell of pain, fear, blood...and death.

"Hotch. Keep back... Call for help. Now!"

A familiar figure was pinned to the wall. She stepped closer not believing her eyes.

Brown eyes met brown.

"Hey Brooklyn..."

"Derek" she breathed.

"I'm ok..."he muttered, shying away from her gaze.

"And I got made the Director," she sighed shaking her head.

"Morgan!" Hotch yelled. "Bastard!" he exclaimed seeing his friend, hanging pitifully.

"Aaron you got this?" Elle asked stepping subtly back to the trembling figure.

"Yeah,... hang on Derek. I'm gonna let you down. Easy, now..."

Slowly stooping down to the pile she whispered gently, "Emily, it's ok you're safe." A dead face looked back at her. Face pale, hair lank, eyes haunted.

"You're going to be ok," Elle said with such conviction Emily knew she knew what had happened. Greenaway quickly took off her FBI jacket and wrapped it around the brunettes frail shoulders. She pushed back the matted hair from Emily's face, before sitting beside her.

Neither spoke. Words weren't needed.

Lowering the tall man to the ground, Hotchner was at a loss as to what to do. It was obvious that a lot of shit had happened, he hoped that his agents, his friends would be strong enough to pull through.

Knowing that two of the missing five were now safe did little to silence the nagging feeling that something was very wrong.

That smell...he knew that smell would haunt him for as long as he lived. He hoped that it was from what ever had happened to Derek and Emily. The thought made him feel evil, for wishing that putrid smell was a consequence of their torture... but deep down he knew he was deflecting from the obvious cause of the stench.

Death.

It suddenly occurred to him that if Emily was alive then JJ was not.

_"I'm a man of my word Agent Hotchner. If you choose Emily to die, I'll tell you where to find Jennifer. If you choose to have Jennifer die, I'll tell you where to find Emily. You have thirty minutes to decide."_

His friend, his agent. This was his fault. No of this would have happened if it weren't for him. A dull gleam caught his eye. He turned to see dull blonde hair splayed across the concrete.

He knew that this was a possibility, he knew but it didn't make the reality any easier to accept.

"No! Please, no..."

* * *

It took Rossi a few moments to comprehend what he was seeing. It was a shock to the system, and his brain still wasn't functioning right.

He slowly processed what he'd found in the chest.

Reid. At least that's who it seemed to be. He had the same brown, messy hair. Same tall, gawky disposition. What this person did have that Reid didn't last time Rossi saw him was numerous. Reid hadn't been that pale the last time he saw him. Reid's leg hadn't been bleeding like that since he'd been shot by an UnSub that felt like a lifetime ago. And Reid most certainly hadn't been blindfolded. Only the somewhat jagged rise and fall of his chest gave him the news he'd been so desperate to find out.

Reid was alive. Barely hanging on by a thread, but it was something.

Rossi removed the blue material from in front of Reid's eyes, recognising the soft navy material for what it was - a police officer's tie. Like the one Darcey Miles had been wearing. They'd already found her shirt - why should they be surprised really? The young officer's guilt was getting as clear as crystal.

Rossi noted with relief that Reid reacted to the sudden light, furiously blinking to adjust to the dim light in the basement. Reid's expression immediately turned to panic, and Rossi understood why. He assumed that he was Foyet back to finish him off.

"Reid, Reid it's okay!" Rossi assured him, his mind taken back a year ago, before they had even been involved with the Reaper. That day Rossi had witnessed Reid's terror as he relived some horrid childhood memory. The fear in Reid's eyes brought him back to that moment.

He actually wished he could be back in this moment, rather than here. Rather than seeing an extremely pale, bloodied and possibly dying Reid, and not knowing what he could or couldn't do for him.

Rossi was lucid enough to realise he could help in a way.

"Call for help!" he cried, pleased he'd though of it sooner rather than later. But when he reached to take his cell phone out of his pocket, he was instead greeted with smashed chunks of metal.

He must have broken it during his fall. Damn.

He knew he should at least try the door, but he didn't want to leave the youngest profiler in case he took a turn for the worst. He wanted to be there at the end if it came to that, so Reid wouldn't die alone. He at least owed him that. Plus, Foyet would than know that they were both alive, and come back to take care of them.

"It's okay Reid," he said again, trying to reassure both himself and the young man. But he was pretty sure both of them knew he was lying.

Nothing about their situation was okay.

* * *

Two lives cut short, two young boys with only their daddies left, one man holding the woman he loved wondering how he was going to carry on...

He held Haley close, burying his face in her hair. He had loved her hair, spread out on the pillow like a fan in the mornings, glistening in the sun as she played with Jack.

She was gone -and it was his fault.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Haley, I promised I'd make it up to you, and now..."

Hearing someone moaning quietly reminded him of where he was; he had responsibilities, people were relying on him.

He kissed her head, before gently lying her on the ground.

He stood slowly and moved to JJ, she had given so much over the years and now the ultimate sacrifice. He bent down and smoothed her hair, before gently kissing her forehead, "I'm sorry, JJ."

He composed him self, pulled on his mask before standing again. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his phone, "We need EMTs to Mallory Drive ASAP."

* * *

Garcia sat in the airport, grateful that she had found a spot where the wireless internet wasn't so spotty. Though she shouldn't be so surprised with herself she guessed. She was a hacker after all.

She inwardly cringed when she looked up at the screen and found that her flight to Orlando had been postponed again. Darn airlines. Didn't they understand that she had to get to her babies? Her three legged kitten? Her chocolate Adonis? Her Emily Princess? She needed to get there, make sure all six of the team members were okay (physically and emotionally) and give each of them an individual ginormous Garcia style hug. Starting with the only other resident blonde, JJ. She'd been gone the longest, therefore she needed the biggest hug. It was simple math really.

Garcia turned her attention back to the screen in front of her. Quite a sophisticated system, if she did say so herself. She was monitoring what was currently left of her babies, and even her ex-babies/ They had all had GPS chips implanted on them somewhere or another. Garcia had asked to be spared the details deliberately in case the GPS chips were planted some where the sun didn't shine too often.

Unfortunately, even Technical Analyst Goddess Penelope Garcia wasn't tech savvy enough to get some sort of signal on the cab ride there (courtesy of Erin Strauss) so when she looked at the map again, it was almost like she was looking at it for the first time. Detective Devlin and betrayer and abandoner extraordinaire Jason Gideon were slowly approaching a house that her Boss-man and gun wielding ex-agent Elle Greenaway had been in even before she had gotten in her cab. Was this it? Had they found them? But than why was the SWAT officer in a completely different house? And where was -

Her ringing cell phone interrupted all her musings. She flipped it open and answered promptly and for once, she didn't have the chance to come up with one of her infamous zingy one liners once she had answered the call.

"Garcia." Her boss-man greeted with an urgency that she couldn't place.

She swallowed hard, before asking the inevitable, "Did you find them?"

"Yes." Came the short reply. No elaboration.

They had found them. They were found. She should feel ecstatic, over the moon - but she knew by his tone that all was certainly not well.

"Garcia? Do you have our positions right in front of you at the moment?" he continued, seemingly changing the subject. Garcia was a little thrown.

"Yes Boss-man, but of course." Didn't he trust her?

"Where's Rossi?" he asked bluntly. Rossi? Well she had just been looking for him when her Boss-man called.

And than she saw it. There were only five figures on the screen, instead of the six there was supposed to be. Apart from her boss-man, one of her remaining babies was missing. It took her a moment to regain her composure. Another ten seconds to lose it again. A gate burst open, and her emotions came tumbling out.

"He… I… he - he's gone! He was there, now he isn't. SWAT guy is right there, but, but no Rossi! Where's Rossi?"

"Garcia calm down. Please. Can you just tell me where SWAT officer Charlie Sierra is?" Hotch kept his voice neutral and detached, trying to calm her nerves more than likely. Garcia scanned the map on the programme related, and found the Charlie Sierra dot. She noted the address and called it out to her Boss-man.

"He's in number 18, Mallory Drive, Orlando."

"Thank you, Penelope." His gratitude seemed genuine, but she felt the urge to explain herself to him. She should have been watching out after all - they would've known that Rossi was MIA otherwise. Another gate opened in the form of apologies and excuses.

"I'm so, so sorry Boss-man. I should have realised Rossi wasn't there. It's just I want to get down there to help you guys so I bullied an airline ticket out of this guy so I could fly down to Orlando. And than I couldn't get internet access in the cab and now Rossi's gone which he wasn't before the cab ride and-"

Hotch clearly had no resentment toward her, as he used her given name when giving Garcia her next instructions. "Penelope! It's okay. You did what you thought was right. Just keep monitoring it, on the flight if possible. When you land, call Elle and head straight for the hospital, understood?"

"Yes Boss-man." She confirmed. She could do that.

"Keep up the good work Penelope. And enjoy what I assume is a Strauss-sponsored flight."

She had to give it to him there. Even under immense stress and clearly hiding something, Aaron Hotchner really knew his team. No one could top the way he knew his team.

* * *

Hotch had hardly even disconnected the call from Garcia when Gideon and Devlin came pounding down the steps. They tried not to look too disturbed by what they found, but it was difficult. Gideon tried to remain stoic seeing his former team mate lying there.

But it was difficult. After a long painful moment, and quickly noting Morgan and Prentiss' condition as well as Reid's absence, he finally spoke.

"What's the plan?" he asked

"I called Garcia and for an ambulance."

"Does she know what has happened to Rossi?"

"She can't find him on the grid. He isn't being picked up. We have SWAT Officer Charlie Sierra's position, we should head there instead."

"Hotch are you sure that's safe?" Morgan asked sceptically.

"Not entirely but -"

"Hotch you can't do this - this could be a set up." Morgan input, worry evident on his scarred face.

"Morgan, even if it is a set up, this could be the only chance we have to Reid."

Morgan stopped himself from saying anything else; he couldn't really argue with that.

"Elle, you wait here with Morgan and Prentiss until the ambulance arrives. Don't even think about leaving or pulling anything."

Hotch was surprised when he received no argument from the former BAU member, but a brief nod.

"Detective Devlin, Gideon. You come with me. Garcia just gave me Officer Sierra's current location. Let's hope he leads us to Rossi - or Reid. We can't afford to lose anymore time than we already have."

"Did you tell Garcia about Haley and.. JJ?" Emily paused, unable to get her deceased friends name off her tongue. Hotch shook his head.

"I didn't see it fit to do it over the phone. It just didn't seem right. She deserves better than to hear it that way."

Morgan agreed, "You're right. JJ was one of her best friends. I mean, she's godmother to JJ's son."

Elle was appalled by this revelation. "JJ had a son?"

Hotch was the one who answered. "Yes. With a detective she met on one of our cases not too long after you had left."

Emily inwardly cringed. That case held bad memories for her and Reid in particular - flashbacks of Reid chastising her came to mind. She had never held it against him though. She had constantly reminded herself than that he had been going through a tough time so looking back now without any resentment was extremely easy. Especially since Reid had stayed. He'd been through hell and back, but he stayed. Unlike Gideon.

But now she wondered if any of them would have the strength to come back after all this.

"Will is going to be devastated." was all she said.

"Yeah." Morgan agreed quietly.

"We have to go now." Hotch cut in urgently.

Morgan agreed - "Go find our resident pretty boy."

Devlin turned to Hotchner and asked, "Do you know the way?"

"Hotch nodded He gave the rest a firm nod and turned to leave, but not before his eyes were drawn to the corner where the pale, limp figures lay. His eyes momentarily the blood, the now dead, limp blonde hair, the pale faces. He took it all in.

Gideon and Devlin exchanged a look that illustrated their sympathy, and than they followed Hotch out of the room, up the steps and out of sight. Morgan exhaled a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding.

"He took it better than any of us expected him to. I'm impressed."

There was a brief pause as no one said a word. Until Morgan broke the silence again, asking something he was dying to know.

"What happened to Reid?" Morgan asked with a hint of panic colouring his tone.

"I don't know," Elle admitted. "When we went to see Garcia, he called her and asked about the officers involved in the case. Garcia wouldn't let us talk to him, or let on that we were even there. Next thing we knew, when we arrived at the hotel we found that he was gone - as well as the cop who was supposed to be on his protection detail."

"Officer Miles?" Morgan asked, and when Elle nodded, he looked a little thrown and continued, "That doesn't make any sense. Foyet didn't take the chance to take her when he crashed into our SUV. He only took me."

"The others think she may be playing the double agent."

Looking alive for the first time, Emily immediately came to the female cops defence. "No way," she stressed, "There is just no way Darcey Miles is involved that way in this. Officer Garvey and her were a c- err, best friends. She'd never get involved in something that deliberately hurt him or put him in danger. There's just no way."

Elle already had a good argument ready, "Unless she had something at stake. With the right threats, you can make people do almost anything. You guys should surely realise that, given our line of work."

* * *

Hotch, Gideon and Devlin slipped inconspicuously out the door, praying that Foyet hadn't any booby-traps planned for them. They set out in a brisk run - Hotch the most agile, leading the pack, Devlin was trotting somewhere in the middle. Meanwhile Gideon, who hadn't been on an apprehension like this in years and was out of practise, was lagging behind by a long shot.

Devlin had had to bite his tongue so he wouldn't demand to know why Hotch hadn't been as quick to assume that his buddy Charlie hadn't been working for Foyet too, when he'd almost immediately been convinced of Darcey's guilt. He decided that this, however was not the ideal time to ask those type of questions. There would be time for "I-told-you-so"s later.

"_Please be to God," _he added in his own mind.

They eventually reached the house number that Garcia had given them, and Hotch examined the door. He slowly pushed down the handle, but it was futile. The door was looked. He stepped down from the porch and dialled Garcia's number.

It went straight to voicemail. She had already boarded her plane.

"I don't get it," Devlin said in a low voice. "Why is this the only one we've found unlocked?"

Hotchner knew, "This is it. This is where Foyet wants his finale to take place."

"You're not going in there are you Aaron?" Gideon asked, horrified, "If you do you'll be playing right into his sick, twisted fantasy."

"We'll if you'd stuck around, you'd know that in some cases playing into their fantasies can be more beneficial for us than for them." Hotch countered.

Gideon still hesitated, so Hotch knew he had to come up with a more persuasive argument.

"I know you aren't fond of Rossi. I understand that. So don't do this for Rossi. Do it for Reid. He's being held captive by Foyet. How do you think he's feeling, given he's pretty much been through all of this before?"

That struck a nerve with Gideon, and Hotch knew that he'd won him over. Gideon hadn't seen Reid in over two years - there was no possible chance he would pass up an opportunity to help him. Gideon nodded and Hotch bounded down off the steps again. He knew where he was going. He knew what all this was leading up to. Gideon was right - Foyet had lured him in. He wanted him to engage in his fantasy. And Hotch at this stage, didn't care.

He didn't care what happened to him. He just wanted Foyet to pay for all the damage he had caused. Hotch rushed around to the back of the house, Gideon and Devlin lopping behind. Hotch paused at the large doors, leading to the basement. He nodded to the other two, to signal that they were ready to get this over with. Devlin opened the basement door, which emitted an eerie creak.

As was expected, Hotch led the pursuit down the steps, pausing in shock and horror when he reached the bottom.

In the middle of the concrete floor, lay SWAT Officer Charlie Sierra, a fire place poker protruding from his chest.

Hotch visibly cringed. Sierra had certainly not been involved in this.

Devlin balked when he saw his former colleague's lifeless, ashen face.

For a moment they said nothing, but silently paid their respects to their fallen colleagues. The silence was palpable, but only momentary.

A dark figure moved in the corner of the dimly lit basement, switching in a lamp in the corner. The figure was sitting on a comfortable-looking arm chair that oddly enough, didn't look very out of place. The figure rose to his feet, and Hotch stared hard into the eyes of George Foyet. But the Reaper spoke first, to exchange pleasantries more or less. He walked up to the opposite side of Sierra's body, giving it a swift kick as he did so.

"Well, well. Agent Hotchner. Welcome to my current squat."

He paused and a malevolent grin spread across his blood-splattered face. He indicated Sierra's body as he added, "I think I've decorated quite well."

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_Ordinary reviews are love. Reviews around someone's birthday is like a gift. Give us a gift._


	22. The Final Showdown, Part I

_**Summary: **__It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world._

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart': **__Most of the team have been kidnapped and tortured. Prentiss and Morgan have been found, but not in very good shape. Hotch also found Haley and JJ in their deaded state, and with that determination, rushed off to find 'Rossi' who had seemingly vanished. But Hotch, Gideon and even Devlin knew that Foyet was luring them in. We know that Rossi is concussed and has found a very-out-of-it Reid. But Hotch doesn't. And now he's face to face with the Reaper. This is it._

_**Authors' Note: **__Once again guys, so sorry for the very long chapter gap. All you guys have to do is bug us to get us to put our skates on! Originally there was much more in this chapter, until we wrote the entire sequence with Foyet and realised it was long enough as a stand-alone (so long in fact, it's not only our longest scene - but also our longest chapter), so sorry for the anti-climax so to speak. This chapter pretty much explains the original murders and just goes into detail over them, because as you can imagine Foyet has one long-ass monologue to rub in Hotch's face. Also, let's see if anyone can figure out what the 'souvenir' he took from each victim is. If you really want to figure it out, further clues in Chapter Four - Wanted; UnSub. Part One and in Chapter Fifteen - Reaper; Roulette. Thanks to last chapter's reviewers who were confused as to whose birthday it was but we appreciated the birthday wishes. Thank you to imajazzbandnerd (our own personal bugger! =D), Spark Shark, PrincessHotch, nexis44 (happy belated birthday to you too?), Nymphadora-CullenBAU and the-vampire-act. So this chapter may not be the most exciting but things will really heat up next time!_

_X Cara and Ava._

_P.s, we now have a poll on our page that we'd ask any readers to check out please!_

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_**Chapter Twenty One - The Final Showdown. Part One.**_

'_We have real enemies in the world. These enemies must be found. They must be pursued and they must be defeated.' ~ Barack Obama_

"What? No warm welcome? No balloons?"

"You son of a bitch."

"Temper temper Agent Hotchner. You leave my mother out of this. Be civil."

Foyet surveyed the scene and noticed Gideon, as if for the first time. His interest was piqued.

"Supervisory Special Agent Jason. Haven't seen your ugly mug in a while. I thought you went off the deep end and left? Thought you couldn't put up with the works of amateurs, apprentices when compared to a craftsman like myself?"

"You're no 'craftsman'. George. Just the opposite. You destroy things. You're nothing but a narcissist, whose sole intention is to inflict pain and suffering on others. You're just a sick, twisted individual who takes perverse pain in torturing others."

"Jason, you're too kind to me. I wish you'd stuck around longer. I live to fish for these kind of compliments."

"It's funny what some people can find complimentary isn't it?"

"Testy, testy. Not that all this hostility is unexpected. My work has never been fully appreciated."

"What work?" Devlin was in no way impressed. "You slaughtered those eight women, as well as one my police officers, and for what? I bet you couldn't even tell me their names."

He was left biting his tongue when Foyet opened his off and rattled off the following names; "Ivy Stevens, Georgia Everett, Cara Casey, Lacey Jones, Ava Quinn, Evangeline Dillon, Officer Cameron Noah Garvey, Haley Hotchner née Brooks, and finally Special Agent Jennifer Jareau."

They momentarily stood there staring in shock, and Foyet looked to the ground before adding, "Oh and SWAT Officer Charlie Sierra here."

"How do you know all that?" Hotch asks, surprised that Foyet seemed to be in the know when it came to the victims.

"_She _kept repeating their names. Trying to humanise them or something I guess. It didn't work. I've had that pulled on me before, so I don't really know what was going through her mind, why she thought it'd work on me."

"Who thought?"

"It may not have been as unlikely as you thought Agent Hotchner. I did have an accomplice all along."

The three men stared at the killer.

"My guess is you want to hear how I did it? How I managed to outsmart the BAU?"

"You didn't 'outsmart' us," Hotch snarled.

"I think I did, Agent Hotchner. I had to make sure none of you suspected that the big, bad Reaper could possibly be involved in any of this. So I had to relocate, but I knew even I couldn't do something this elaborate alone. So I enlisted some help from someone who had very little power, but quite a bit of power at the same time. So I broke off a rookie from the pack - which was fairly easy since all you Orlando cops are out of practise -"

Devlin interrupted with an indignant scoff, and mumbled something about Boston psychopaths. The corner of Gideon's mouth twitched at whatever was said either way.

Foyet continued, his focus was intently on Hotch.

"So I managed to get my side-kick, I suppose you could say, to see things my way. Bodily harm threats generally work especially if children are involved. Eating out of the palm of my hand, of course you maybe seeing my buddy sooner or later."

"They must be really special for you to feel able to share that with them. That level of trust." Gideon ventured, curious if Rossi's instincts were correct and it was this Officer Miles that nor he or Elle met - or was Detective Devlin right to trust his Junior Officer?

Foyet's smile became something that Hotch had never seen on his face - lust.

"Special? Not exactly. But she sure has her moments."

Hotch was sure they'd be getting to the more gruesome details of this later - Foyet may have been a narcissist, but he seemed to have found a new use for his accomplice.

He continued, "I knew I had to find a way to lure you here. I got a tip-off that your wife, or should I say, your ex-wife may have been here, which would have made sense, keep you well out of the loop. But I couldn't be sure, they could have sent her to Alaska for all I knew. Than, one day, there it was. Proof." he paused his pacing as he contemplated this for a moment, before resuming his seemingly well-rehearsed tale. "My fair accomplice had given a speeding ticket to a Ms Haley Brooks. Either she didn't want to be associated with you or she thought I'd never make the connection. Good thing I flicked through your address book last time we met, otherwise I may have never known." Hotch subconsciously rubbed his arm against his chest and abdomen, where traces of his souvenirs from their last encounter were etched. Gideon flinched, he may have been in a cabin in the middle of no-mans-land, but he still got the newspaper. Nothing could have prepared him for seeing that Hotch had been attacked at home, but he only now knew that Foyet had been behind it.

Foyet picked up where he had left off, after giving a sadistic grin as he relived the horrid memories.

"So there I was in the pharmacy, when I decided, what would be the point in simply killing her. That wouldn't be as much fun, without seeing your reaction. So there I was when this girl skipped me in the queue. A pretty young girl. The sort whose death would get attention. I went to a different till to try and beat her out, and when I did I waited behind the dumpster. She walked past, sniffling barely hold back tears." he turned to them, his eyes wide in fake innocence. "I was doing her a favour. Like… stabbing a wounded dog - I put her out of her misery. It was too easy really.

She was fumbling with a plastic bag -"

"She didn't have a bag," Devlin argued, " I worked that crime scene and she didn't have anything like that on her."

"Did you check the dumpster?"

"I worked the scene and there wasn't anything there!"

"Maybe some one got there before you. This never occurred to you?"

Silence.

"Some detective you are. As I was saying, she then pulled out her cell phone when I decided to make my move, but I must have stepped on some trash or something - she looked in my direction and started panicking. I'm so used to the ruses, I'll admit I'm not so polished with my stealth skills. No matter, I got her in a couple of strides before she got the chance scream. Once I started my work, she screamed bloody murder. You have to understand , again Hotchner that I'm not used to screaming, although I must say recently it's started to grow on me." There it was again, that look of lust.

"Before then, by the time I had hit them on the roadside, they hadn't even processed that I'd played them. There were only two times I had stabbed before that weren't on the roadside, your apartment and down that alley. And you were unsurprisingly stoic through out the entire thing, hardly even a groan. Ruined the fun a little, but you seem to be a spoilsport. Now the alley incident - well there was more than stabbing going on there." Hotch, Gideon and Devlin didn't like the look of perverse pleasure that Foyet had in his eyes.

"So I stabbed her, in the stomach and she dropped to the ground, wreathing, gasping, whimpering. Of course I admired my work, but somehow I didn't get my usual satisfaction, my mind was briefly elsewhere, focused on someone else. My victim, as you call them, intrigued me, I wanted to know more about her, I looked through her bag. Yes, Kenneth, she had a bag. I found her ID. So I decided to start a new signature for a new state. Seemed fitting. I saw that she was twenty-three. You know what happened next don't you Aaron? Poor Jason looks a little confused though, perhaps it's his age finally catching up to him, but why don't you fill him in so he feels included?"

"I know what you did, you sick bastard"

"You do? I'm impressed. But maybe you should remind me just so we know we're thinking of the same part to my new signature, you never know I might be thinking of something you don't know about yet…" he had that look in his eye, the look that made the hairs on the back of Hotch's neck stand on end and filled him with indescribable hatred and disgust.

Gideon and Hotchner knew that replying would only help fuel his sick recollections. Unfortunately Detective Devlin filled with such didn't notice the profilers reluctance to answer.

"You stabbed her, twenty-three times…"

Foyet closed his eyes, a small smile on his face. "That's right, one for every year…she was quite lovely, a little old for my liking, but than again, _she's_ a little older than I usually go for. And she's perfect for all I need…" he leered. "I decided to correspond that to her stabbing, so I added another ten or fifteen to what I had already done. I had to be quick, we were in the parking lot. At any point someone could see us, that added to the thrill, Do you know how long it takes to stab someone twenty-three times? With each blow she got weaker and weaker, life slowly draining from her, she stopped fighting and excepted the inevitable. With that final thrust, I felt the life leave her body, and for a moment I couldn't understand why I had given this up for.

"I knew I had to do it again. It was than my plan all began to come together. There was a way I could lure you here - the same way you had been brought to Boston, and I didn't mind it as it meant I could do what I loved most. Killing. And I was still taking things from my victims, though not what you'd expect. But I didn't leave them with the next victim... I had them all to myself. It was the spur of the moment, what I decided to take from Ivy, from them all.

"But meanwhile, I had a wayward associate that needed reeling in. She needed constant surveillance and a wake up call, so I followed her into a clothing shop. And it was there I spotted another potential victim, browsing through dresses and conversing with my objective. I felt a little bit like my old self as I thought of a guise. I managed to slip into the backroom undetected and find a spare uniform. I walked back out, blending in and observing my associate, when I saw her friend leave to try on a dress.

"Her friend was quite pretty, and I'm sure she reminded you of someone when you saw her. Tall and lanky, long curly brown hair, big puppy dog brown eyes… and her name. Georgia. So much like mine. Not to mention, the state. Don't think I've just been sitting around the last few weeks Aaron, I did my research on your team. I know what buttons to press.

"I followed dear Georgia into the changing rooms, and stood outside her stall momentarily. She was the only one using one at the time, which I thought may make things easier. It sounded like she was having difficulties, so being the kind gentlemen I am, I offered my assistance. 'Are you okay in there ma'am? You sound like you need a hand.' I heard her groan in response, 'It's just a little stuck, I think I'll need to cut a few of the straps off if I get it, and choose convenience over style.' I pulled back the curtain, 'Well how convenient indeed - I happen to have this handy!'

"She was going to scream before I even pulled the knife - someone clearly watched the news. She recognised me. She was about to open her mouth but I stuck my knife where I knew it would do the most damage - in her chest. Lucky shot, I hit one of the bigger arteries and the blood just began to spill everywhere, all over that well-fitting dress. She really was beautiful, and if I had more time I would have found more uses for fair Georgia… but that's what I have _her _for. So I checked Georgia's ID to make sure I got the age right, and took some keys from her bag. Highly unusual you didn't notice those were missing."

He pulled a pair of keys from his pocket and jingled them in front of the three men. There was a tag attached to the two keys with 'G. Everett' neatly scripted on it. He tossed them at Devlin.

"Some detective."

Hotch could see that Devlin was finding it extremely difficult to keep his cool with Foyet constantly belittling him, he just hoped that the Orlando cop wouldn't let it build so much that he'd verbally explode - that was exactly what Foyet wanted.

Foyet was disappointed when he didn't manage to gauge a reaction from the older man. He continued his monologue.

"It was twenty-five for Georgia, and I managed to slip out of there in a low-key manner. I changed back into my own clothes and dumped the bloody ones. Georgia wasn't the first lucky lady I took an extra souvenir from, but I was more prepared this time around. Better equipped."

"What sort of 'souvenir'?" Gideon asked with interest.

"I'm not the person you should ask. Now, perhaps if you asked Dr. Reid the same question, you'd get a better answer."

Despite the intent of the statement, both Hotch and Gideon felt a little bit of unease seep out of them. Foyet didn't know it, but he'd just confirmed that Reid was alive, or at least had been last he saw of him. Foyet was so obsessed with his tale, he didn't even notice his potential slip.

"My next victim I took care of a few days later while following _her, _because _she _had a dinner with someone. In TGI Friday's. How terribly romantic. I took up my post at the bar in the restaurant, where I could see everyone. I told the waitress I was waiting for someone else to join me. I don't think she was listening very carefully, she left extremely quickly to go serve somebody else. _Her._ I decided she needed another warning, to let her know how easily I could have her killed if she didn't abide to _my _rules.

"And that's when young Cara brushed past me on her way to the bathroom. She was young, my youngest victim-to-be at that point. I followed her stealthily into the bathroom without her even noticing I'd slipped in behind her. The restaurant was so busy, I doubt anyone would notice me go into the women's bathroom. It was all much simpler than I'd dreamed.

"Cara fought hardest, especially when I tried to take a, ahem, memento of our time together. I never found out why that was. Of course I didn't give her the chance to scream. The restaurant may have been busy, but it would never have been busy enough to mask the screams. It was one of the bloodiest deeds I've ever done though, and that is saying something. Especially for sixteen stabs. I managed to get a little bit of blood on me. Usually I'm extremely careful for that. I left the bathroom without being seen, and paid for my drinks - I'm not quite that cold hearted - and left. But made sure that I was seen - by _her._

"Alas, it didn't seem like I'd done enough to attract your attention. Those three lovely ladies' deaths would go unsolved… such a shame. They all really were beautiful. But the damn Orlando police thought that they could handle things, so I thought I'd better give them yet _another _body. And like the good serial killer I am, I did what all criminals do - return to the scene of the crime.

"It was in that frame of mind that I saw her. A young girl walk past with her family, but I thought I'd managed to track down your beloved Haley. When I saw she was a very young teenager, I thought, 'even better'. I watched them walk across the road from TGI Friday's to what I presumed was their hotel, and I knew that I'd found my next target. It was all too perfect.

"I kept tabs on them all evening, and hoped one of them would say their room number aloud. When all else failed, I simply tailed her when she was alone, heading to her bedroom. She put up the least amount of a fight. She fought when I tried to get into the room, but once I was in there, it was all pretty straightforward. She didn't even scream when I got in there. She didn't recognise me - she was obviously on holiday here, so why would? Why would anyone in Orlando need to recognise the famous George Foyet, AKA the famous Boston Reaper? She may have been in shock, but she wasn't that stupid. She tried to run for it. I began stabbing her as per usual, enjoying watching what little fight she had drain away. It goes up there in the top five as one of my favourite targets. Haley Hotchner Junior. Little Lacey.

"I stopped after nine. I decided that if that wasn't a message for you, what was? A young girl who looked so much like your beloved wife? Stabbed the same amount of times as you? Even you aren't that dim-witted not to see the similarities."

Hotch scowled, and both Gideon and Devlin looked unnerved, as if a noise as such being emitted from Hotchner was unthinkable. Foyet continued, his broad smirk a little wider.

"I thought Lacey would be my last victim until your beloved wife, _ex-wife, _or your team. But I thought wrong. Before your team arrived, there was another little incident. As I crossed the road heading to where my car was parked, I bumped into a young girl. A little bit of the blood from Lacey brushed onto her and the girl panicked briefly. 'Hey, are you okay?' She asked, frightened for a moment. For _me._ I recognised her, but she didn't recognise me. 'Ava Quinn', her nametag read. The waitress from TGI Fridays.

"I had to take care of that waitress next. She was the only one who could link me to both murders - she'd served both me at the bar, and Cara Casey and her family when they'd eaten - but than she saw me leave the hotel after I'd killed Lacey Jones. I just couldn't take any chances. I didn't know would she put it together, but I had to be sure.

"I had ears, so I knew that the waitress was going on a fun family outing. Luckily, I'd taken some things from Ivy's handbag. Ivy had been a lifeguard there, so it was very easy to get in in the first place, get into her locker and get all I needed for the guise. I saw the waitress, but to my annoyance she was with all her sisters, one of which was an identical twin. I casually walked past, and one of them did a double take. It seemed a little panicked, and I was sure it was her. Luckily her twin, who was wearing a different coloured bikini, manage to spare her own life by asking Ava what was wrong, by name. I knew for sure who was my target, what she was wearing.

"Ivy had a schedule in her locker of what time the lifeguards switched duties. So I was prepared. I saw the lifeguard leave the ride known as the Disco H20, and Ava had an argument with her oldest sister who wouldn't go on the ride with her. She eventually realised her sister was never going to give in. She huffed and puffed some more but gave up. She decided maybe someone else in the queue would go on the ride with her. You can't go on that ride alone. I managed to beat her up the steps to the ride entrance. I was in my life guard uniform.

"I could tell she was disappointed when she got to the top and it was just me. She was hoping someone else would be in the queue, some one who could go on it with her. She looked so upset, I had to offer to go on with her.

"She was as smart as I gave her credit for. She recognised me, and put it all together very quickly. I caught her before she could make a run for it down the steps. I had to cover her mouth - she was screaming already. I took out my trusty knife and stabbed her once. To her credit, she was tough. She didn't scream as hard as some of the others. I decided that as appealing as it seemed, stabbing her at the top of the ride anymore would make too much of a mess. So I decided to take a ride. She moaned a little as I put her on one of those inflatable tubes, and I climbed on as well. She was already a little out of it, I twisted the knife a little so she'd lose more blood. I enjoyed that ride. It was a new challenge. Stabbing some one while on a water ride is a high I'd thoroughly recommend.

"Since I'd struck while the lifeguards were switching shifts and it wasn't a very busy day, no one was there at the end of the ride to bear witness to my latest feat. I left her there, floating - pale. Of course I'd taken what I needed from her before we took our little ride. She didn't fight as hard as Cara, nor as weakly as Ivy. She was most like Georgia.

"Her death was one I did pity a little, but it was the only necessary one. She could have exposed me earlier than I needed to be. But even after that, you still hadn't put things together, so I needed to give you an extra clue. Another body.

"But first, I had to find your lovely wife. I went to my, ahem, _friend's_ house. She'd had to write up the speeding ticket incident after all. And when I found the file I wanted, it seemed she's been more detailed then I could ever have dreamed. All the information I needed was right there in front of me. Where she worked, her new address. It was too easy.

"I waited in my car, for her to walk past. She wouldn't have recognised me. When she walked past I groaned loudly. 'I'm terribly sorry ma'am,' I said to her as she stopped, 'but do you know anything about cars? I just can't seem to get it going is all.'

"She smiled at me, and for a moment she seemed to think that _**I**_ was the damsel in distress. She sat into the car to have a look-see. There was nobody around. So, I clunked her on the back of the head, sat her in the passenger seat - so any passer bys would just assume she was asleep or passed out. No one asked me anything as they walked by. I managed to get the old piece of junk going - the car was too convincing I think - and brought Haley to my new home.

"That was the first step in the game, but I didn't know how long it would be before you realised she was gone, or that I was in anyway responsible. So I had to leave another few clues - but the fun was really about to begin. Way back when I broke into your house - remember Agent Hotchner?"

Hotch snarled at him, but didn't say anything. Gideon looked on in concern. Foyet continued, that disturbing smile still making its way on his face.

"Well, you noticed that I took a page out of your planner, but did you ever notice that I took this?"

Foyet produced what looked like a photo out of his out of his multifunctional bag, and was about to toss it to Hotchner when he noticed something.

"Oh silly me," he chastised, "I almost forgot." He reached back into the bag and grabbed two markers - one red, one black. He very deliberately drew a red 'x' over two faces, the more senior members of the team, Hotch realised. They were the last of the team to be 'captured'. Foyet hurled the photo at Hotch, and he saw JJ's smiling face was the only one with a black 'x' over it. Their only casualty. That did little to settle the fear in Hotch's stomach.

"That was my guide so to speak. I knew that things were beginning to take off. I was en-route to the hotel when I saw a group of girls playing mini golf at one of those ridiculously themed pitch and putt courses. I pulled over, my trusty knife -"

He pulled his coat open a little to reveal a knife in a sheath connected to his belt loop.

"- readily available. It wasn't too long before one broke off from the pack. She wasn't my usual type, she was sort of different, exotic. I went with my new signature, thank you very much, to stop the screaming. It worked like a dream as usual. She was too busy coughing up gallons of blood to even consider screaming.

"I hid away but not too far away. I wanted to see you investigate the scene, your thoughts. I wanted to know if you were finally on to me. And it's a good thing I did - dear sweet Emily hit the nail on the head without realising."

Hotch noticed that he spoke fondly of Emily, with the same lust he had for his accomplice. It sickened him.

"Then of course, boy genius put it together while you got the bad news about your wife. I can see why you keep him around."

Another disturbing smile - no lust in this one, just pure malice. What had the Reaper done to Reid?

"Once you were all finished, you were all so preoccupied that you didn't even notice I was tailing you in my car taken grand-theft-auto style. You all went inside, except poor unfortunate Jennifer, who I'd already decided would be my first target. She exchanged a few words with the lovely Emily, before calling her loved ones. I thought I owed her as much to let her say her goodbyes. I can be reasonable at times, Agent Hotchner. But as soon as she hung up and I was sure there was no one else around, I grabbed her and took her to shack up with your wife. You and your blondes, Agent Hotchner."

He paused, and grinned. He didn't say anymore, leaving the three men's imagination doing the work instead. The Reaper wasn't spent information-wise, but even he knew if he told of what he'd done to the team, his usefulness, and therefore his insurance policy, was gone. He looked at Hotch, that smirk on his face growing and growing.

"I'm sure you can't handle much more. What's left of your team - if you find it - can fill in the rest of the blanks -"

An unexpected creak caught them all off-guard. They all turned with bated breath towards the door leading to the basement, but were surprised to see the door swinging on its hinges. Devlin frowned. He was sure he'd closed the door after Hotch had lead the pursuit downstairs. Foyet turned his attention back to the Law Enforcers.

"Well, not that this hasn't been fun, but where pre-tell, do we go from here? What do I do-"

"Wait -" Hotch broke in with. Both Devlin and Gideon looked on in confusion. Not only was he interrupting Foyet mid-monologue, but he looked like he'd just had a brainwave. What was on the Unit Chief's mind?

"Where's Jack?" he asked, taking a step closer to the Reaper. The grin faded from Foyet's face for a moment, before he thought of something. He smiled again.

"I can't tell you that Agent Hotchner, he's part of my insurance policy."

Suddenly, a new voice was there, though it was one almost all of them recognised. The voice came from the top of the staircase and carried down to the basement.

"He doesn't know where he is. He never knew."

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_Reviews are love…_


	23. The Final Showdown, Part II

_**Summary: **__It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world. We don't own Harry Potter either. Or Nickelodeon. That didn't stop us ripping them off though - sorry J.K Rowling. We do love you. Even after all the casualties in the last book. Cara is still getting over one in particular and is sobbing, an ill effect of the full moon for her._

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart': **__Most of the team have been kidnapped and tortured. The rest of the team now know their location. They need to find them. Fast. But time is running out… Haley, JJ, Officer Cameron Garvey, SWAT Officer Charlie Sierra. The death toll is rising and will be getting bigger. But Hotch finally tracked down the Reaper. This is it._

_**Authors' Note: **__Hmmm. Seems like these monthly chapter updates only is becoming a very bad habit. Our bad. And we're getting so lazy we don't even reply to reviews anymore. This will be changed for the remaining, err, not very many chapters. Fear not faithful readers there is more to come! Thanks for reviewing - _PrincessHotch_, _imajazzbandnerd_ (who you guys owe, this girl bugs us until there is an update!) _Spark Shark_, _the-vampire-act_, _Iulya_, _nexis44_ and _Nymphadora-CullenBAU_ (who seems to be going all Neville on Foyet… it's Foyet. Not Nagini. ;)) Speaking of which, we have multiple little things hidden in this chapter which we're turning into a challenge. Anyone who gets them shall be rewarded… sent your answers in PM but feel free to leave a review first… or no spoilers. Sorry guys we have to get tough on you! Here are your challenges - since it's a full moon and all, find all the Harry Potter references and influences as you can. And for all you non Harry Potter fans; shame on you. But there are plenty old CM episode references you guys should find instead, and one tactfully mis-spelt word! Plus, no one ever guessed what were in the vials… we're disappointed and giving you one last chance. Use the inner Reid, figure it out. Preferably in the awesome green screen way, but make do with what you have. Just don't start reciting the periodic table of elements, unless you feel you're losing it. And don't forget to hit 'em with a little ghetto gospel!_

_X Cara and Ava._

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty Two - The Final Showdown. Part Two.**_

_"Remember to keep yourself alive, there is nothing more important than that."_ ~ _Afeni Shakur_

"He doesn't know. Don't listen to his lies any longer. He never knew."

Darcey Miles crept quietly down the remaining stairs, pointing what Hotch recognised as Rossi's weapon in their direction. So Rossi had been right all along. And to add insult to injury now the corrupt cop was not wielding her own weapon, but Rossi's. She knew where he was. She had done something to him…

"Well, well," Foyet greeted, the lust ever evident in his eyes. In that second, Hotch understood what Officer Miles' part in this was. She was his weakness, his obsession, his pawn. He'd picked who he considered a weak-willed officer to do his bidding, and he'd found what he needed in Darcey Miles. Hotchner was curious what had been at stake for her to have had made her help conspire in all this, especially as her colleague was slaughtered standing guard for a member of their team. And where did her apparent closeness to Reid come into this? Had it all been a front all along? Was this seemingly friendly police officer really that devious?

The traitor in question took one final step into the basement, into the light , and was immediately unnerved by the dead body of SWAT Officer Charlie Sierra. In that moment, Hotch made a dangerous, but what he assumed was an accurate assumption. There was no possibility that Officer Miles had actually killed, or physically harmed any of those women. There was just no conceivable way that she had been able to stab those women over and over again, feel the life leave their bodies… none the less, she was a trained officer of the law and had her gun - well, Rossi's gun - steadily aimed, at Hotch.

"Darcey, no," Devlin moaned. He looked sick at the thought that Agent Rossi had been right. He'd been working with a double-crosser from the beginning. Darcey uneasily turned to look at her superior, and it was for the first time Hotch noticed her startling appearance.

She was missing her shirt and tie, the shirt part he already knew (it was clearly the one Rossi and Elle had found), but the tie part completely bemused him. Without her shirt, she was wearing only a small tank top and Hotch could see raised goose bumps on her skin from the cold. More disturbing was the dark bruising along her neckline… almost like someone had attempted to strangle her.

Darcey saw Hotch's analysis and shifted uneasily, brushing some blood that was trickling down her forehead from her hairline away. Clearly, being George Foyet's accomplice was no easy task.

"I've missed you, my love."

Darcey said nothing, instead pointing her gun- Rossi's gun - to the group. The slight look of pain on her face, was conformation to what Gideon had suspected.

"It seems we've both been having fun with the BAU agents. My dear."

"No!" she hissed, her eyes wide.

"I had too, my sweet. You weren't around. Too be quite honest, I'm not sure who I preferred. At least you don't fight it - any more." The Reaper walked closer, smirking. He raised his voice a few octaves before crying out in a pitiful voice. _"No no please don't, no please. I'm pregnant, my baby. Please, stop, NO!_" "

"What did you expect me to say? I'm a woman it's the perfect excuse." Darcey said walking forward, her eyes never leaving Foyet's.

Hotch glanced to Devlin, who seemed horrified at what was being suggested.

Foyet's smile of sickening lust swept slowly across his face, but he tactfully changed the topic of conversation. "So are you here to take care of things like a good little girl, instead of doing anything else silly?" The three men opposite Foyet cringed at the patronising tone he used on the young officer, as if she were a wayward toddler rather than a woman in her twenties.

She sighed in response, and back to him, replied, "Yes George, I've finally decided to do the right thing."

To the surprise of everyone in the room, she quickly and deliberately swerved around and pointed the gun at Foyet's chest. He looked momentarily perplexed, but he than relaxed once he regarded his former ally.

He scoffed, "You think you can defy me?"

Hotch looked from one to another. Foyet was sizing up the challenge with a hint of amusement in his eyes. Darcey's were dark, downcast, unreadable - it was hard to see what exactly was going on in her head, even for a profiler.

Hotch could try profiling her to predict her next move, but he needed a few questions answered first.

"Officer Miles?" he enquired, keeping his tone formal, civil and free from his inner disgust, "Why are you here?"

"He's gone too far," she replied curtly.

Foyet let out a low cruel laugh, "It was the buddy that did it wasn't it? I thought it was a nice gift to leave for you for when you checked up on Agent Prentiss. Was I wrong? I was only leaving you a little - surprise."

Hotch frowned. What did Officer Garvey have to do with anything?

Officer Miles, however, was enraged, "Surprise - surprise? You didn't have to kill him! And you didn't kill him just because he was on Agent Prentiss' protection detail!"

"Now darling, don't be ridiculous - that's EXACTLY why I killed him."

"Not exactly why." Darcey argued, her hand now trembling, her aim going slightly askew. Not that it mattered, as Gideon, Devlin and Hotch were all aiming their weapons at Foyet's chest. If he made one wrong move, he was a goner. As were Reid, Rossi and Jack as the Reaper was the only one who knew their location… or was he? Darcey had Rossi's gun - any faith in her held previously had abruptly vanished at the sign of that. Was it about to be restored?

"Agent Hotchner, I know where Spen-" Darcey either didn't notice the glares she was being given or she no longer cared.

"Darcey," Foyet said, almost as if warning a child. "No. Don't forget, I started this."

"And now I'm ending it. You're not going to hurt anyone else. Agent, err -"

"Jason Gideon." he replied, realising that the young woman hadn't met him yet and therefore they hadn't exchanged pleasantries.

"Agent Jason Gideon, Spencer's in the basement of the last house from the end, number 22, Agent Rossi's down there too. Please, help him."

"He wouldn't need help if it wasn't for you." Hotch growled. She may not have had an easy time playing the accomplice, but that did little to make Hotch feel pity. She could have told them so long ago that Foyet was behind this. They could've saved JJ and… and Haley. The fact that Hotch himself was partially to blame for completely writing off the idea of an accomplice was at that moment irrelevant.

"We can argue about this later," Gideon interrupted. "Aaron?"

"I got you covered, Jason. Go take care of Reid and Dave." Hotch replied his eyes never leaving the traitor and the psychopath before him.

All was silent until the door slammed shut and Jason Gideon was gone.

* * *

Back when David Rossi began working with the BAU, teams were virtually unheard of. You worked individually, which for the most part, worked out fine. Sure, Rossi acknowledged that there were certainly plus points for being part of a team, but right now, he couldn't see any of those. Being part of a team made you vulnerable - most people in law enforcement these days were closer to their team mates than their own families. The different view points and inputs from the different team members was useless when one of them was dying right before your eyes.

Just since Rossi had joined the team, Reid had been through much more than any of them - Hotch had only managed to top Reid's being shot by being stabbed nine times. It was like a sadistic game of poker, and in his partly-delirious state he could see the bizarre scene play before his eyes.

"_I see your messy divorce and I raise you anthrax, a drug addiction and being shot in the leg."_

"_I see your anthrax, drug addiction and being shot and raise you being stabbed nine times."_

Rossi just hoped that Reid wasn't ready to fold just yet.

"_I see your being stabbed nine times and I raise you my current situation which is really confusing Rossi."_

Rossi rubbed his head, which was still throbbing and thought _"I'm not playing poker with them unless there's gambling with chips only involved. And scotch. Plenty of scotch."_

But Rossi was still confused. What was wrong with Reid? Even when he'd been shot, even when he'd had anthrax, even when the coffee had run out he'd never looked this bad. He was pale, shaking and there was a rash on his right arm by the crook of the elbow. It looked like one of two things - he looked like he'd either been shooting up - which seemed like a very unReidy thing for him to do - and it had gone horribly wrong, or going cold turkey after shooting up. Those situations really couldn't be more different.

Almost as if reiding his mind, Reid started mumbling, so quietly Rossi had to lean to hear.

"It's not what you think. Well it is, but not the way you're thinking it and there's more to it than just what you're thinking I think." Evidently even when he was high, he was still Reid.

"And if you're thinking what I just thought you're thinking you're wrong. Ask Emily. She'll tell you. I hope she's okay… did you find them? JJ?"

"Yeah Kid, we found them. We were all just worried about you, as usual. You really know how to find trouble don't you?"

"I don't find trouble - trouble usually finds me." Reid argued feebly.

Rossi felt his lips tugging at Reid's indignant response, and brushed Reid's sweaty matted hair from in front of his eyes. He could feel the heat radiating from his forehead.

A fever. That was never a good thing… well it was and it wasn't. A fever meant he was alive… and fighting to stay that way.

"It's freezing… what I wouldn't do for a cup of sugar… with some coffee." He said with a weak smile.

Rossi was panicked. Reid had a serious fever, his skin was so hot to touch yet he thought he was freezing. At least he was still somewhat coherent, admitting he put so little coffee in his sugar was a good thing.

"Reid," he began, a plan forming among his jumbled thoughts, "I need you to concentrate on something. Keep talking to me. Something… anything."

Reid had a brief look of concentration on his face before asking innocently, "By atomic number or alphabetically?"

Rossi was completely baffled but answered none the less, "Whatever suits you kid."

Reid nodded contently. "Helium."

"What?" Rossi asked, thinking Reid had finally lost it.

"You're right! What was I thinking? Hydrogen comes before helium! Vial D messed up my head too much… maybe I should have picked Vial B sooner - even though by those odds I'd be dead by now, but it would have been a slower death than Vial A, at least I think so… oh god. I don't have any statistics on this! I don't even know what this is! What the hell is wrong with me?"

"You mean now, or in general?" Rossi said, smiling wryly.

Even in his weakened state, Reid still managed to throw Rossi a dirty look.

"Come on kid, relax. Get back to… whatever you were doing. Hydrogen…"

"Helium. Lithium. Beryllium."

Rossi was already regretting this. He would have preferred to hear a list of Reid's conquests - at least it would have been short.

"Boron. Carbon. Nitrogen."

With a PhD in Chemistry however, something had to give. Reid was so intent on his task, he barely paused to let himself cough. And when he did, he went right back to his list.

"Oxygen. Fluorine. Neon."

Rossi, who had been rubbing his tired, scratchy eyes, looked up as soon as he heard the wracking cough coming from the slim, frail man before him.

"Sodium. Magnesium. Aluminium. Dave? You ok?" Reid asked seeing the older profiler look down at him in concern.

"I'm fine, Spence."

He grinned weakly, "Only JJ gets away with calling me that …I hope she's ok."

"You really care about her, huh?"

"Duh."

Rossi laughed outright. It was the most un-Reid like thing he had ever heard the young doctor say.

"We went on a date once. I took her to see the ….Indians. No that's not right. The red…something."

"I thought you had an eidetic memory, Reid."

"I do! I can remember things I've read. Besides I wasn't really paying attention to the game," Reid winked at him.

"What were you paying attention to?" Rossi asked raising an eyebrow.

"How pretty she looked. How happy she was to be there. How entranced she was with the game. The way she brushed back her hair when she'd talk to me. She has such pretty hair. I wish I'd told her that. Will you tell her I think she has pretty hair… and that I had the best time that night. It was the best birthday ever." Reid was interrupted by yet another coughing fit, this time worse than the last.

Rossi wiped away the line of red that trickled from the young doctor's mouth.

"You can tell her yourself, kid."

"Yeah like that's gonna happen….Sox! It was the Red Sox!"

"Skins, Reid. It was the Red Skins." Came a voice.

"Yeah I'm losing it." he leaned into Rossi, and whispered, "I just heard Gideon. In my head. I shouldn't be hearing Gideon in my head . Gideon went crazy and left. Like Elle went crazy and shot someone and left. Now I'm going crazy. And got shot up. And am now leaving. Better go back to what I know. Silicon. Phosphorus. Calcium. Damn it! Silicon. Phosphorus. _Sulfur. Chlorine. Argon. Potassium._ Calcium!"

He leaned into Rossi again. " Dave? Gideon's not in my head anymore. He's standing next to you."

"I know Reid."

"You see him too? I'm not going crazy?"

"That's still debatable, kid." Rossi smirked.

"Oh. Ok. Scandium. Titanium. Vanadium. Chromium ….."

"You've finally done it, Dave. You've driven someone to insanity." Gideon mocked, staring at the profiler that was clearly losing his mind.

"It's calming for his soul, Jason."

"Sure, calming that's one word for it. At least I called for an ambulance, they should be here soon."

"Nickel. Nickel. N_iiiiiiiiiii_ck. Nick kick. _Kick nick_!" Reid started singing, "Nick, nick, nick, nick, nick, nick…Nickelodeon!"

The two older profilers looked at Reid and then each other.

Rossi spoke first, "Can we keep him like this for a while? He's more fun this way."

No sooner had the words spoken, Reid suddenly stopped at 'Arse-'. The profilers looked over the young man on the floor, with only the whites of his eyes showing.

Neither spoke, and Gideon rushed to Reid's side, dropped to his knees and took Reid's wrist in his hand under the guise of checking his pulse. After what felt like the world's longest silence, a siren could be heard in the distance, to their immense relief. But would it come in time?

* * *

"My love, I never did thank you." He smirked at the look of disgust on her face. "For leaving your shirt and tie, I've found them useful -"

A slight blush flooded her otherwise pale cheeks. "They found you it's over. You're surrounded and won't be hurting anyone else. "

"You know what they say - it's not over until the fat lady sings. Go on Darcey - hit us with a few high notes."

Devlin gasped on Darcey's behalf, but Darcey, clearly nonplussed and taking the high road, again turned to Hotch. "I know where your son is. He's safe. Foyet never knew where he was. I made sure of it." "Darcey? My sweet you were wrong." The Reaper stepped towards Darcey, pushing her gun facing downwards. She didn't resist. He walked behind the young police officer and to the surprise of the profilers, hugged her close. Stranger still she showed no discomfort to the close proximity, fully confirming the profilers' assumptions. Foyet spoke directly to the profilers standing before him. "You seem convinced that if someone chooses to use a knife as their weapon of choice, they're _clearly _impotent." It was at this point George reached in to his sheath and removed the blood covered knife. He seemed completely at ease as he held it against his accomplice's abdomen. Darcey barely flinched. "It's an unfair, biased assumption. And there are many who can vouch for the fact that I am anything but impotent, Aaron." He hugged her close for a moment before pushing her away and sheathing his knife. The crimson blood glinted in the moonlight as he pocketed the blade."That's all beside the point," Darcey added hurriedly, and continued a little defensively, "You don't know where Jack is.""Are you certain? I wasn't referring to that, though. You said I wouldn't hurt anyone else." The Reaper pulled out a gun, and pointed it at the petite officer. "You have too much faith in me."A single shot was fired, then another. Police Officer Darcey Miles looked down in shock at the dark stain seeping across her abdomen. Foyet fired one more time and she collapsed on the floor next to Charlie Sierra."NO!" Devlin yelled. He immediately went to rush to his fallen officer's aid, double crosser be damned. He had literally just moved one foot in front of the other when Foyet quickly switched his aim from his former ally to the balding detective.

"No - don't move!" He grinned sadistically before adding, "We're still playing."

Devlin was appalled. "This is all just a game to you?"

"A game between myself and Agent Hotchner. And you're my latest pawn. You move, I shoot."

Hotch straightened his aim, looking Foyet square in the eye. It was deja vu of the worst kind. Foyet had his gun aimed steadily at Detective Devlin, who had been forced to halt his efforts to save his Junior Officer. Darcey was hardly even conscious, mumbling nonsensically. It took Hotch back a few months, as he uttered those very same words.

"You kill him, I kill you."

Foyet chuckled, and gave the same response he'd given previously. "You think I'm afraid to die?"

This time, Hotch had a different answer. "I do. If you weren't, you wouldn't have run from prison. You wouldn't have let several other people die in your place. You're a coward who kills innocent people because he doesn't know what love is. And for that I pity you."

Foyet looked a little surprised by the remark, but let it pass with a confident smirk. "There's more things to life than _love_ Agent Hotchner. Like power, fame, glory. All the things I want - I had. You seem to be trying to make this seem like a battle of good versus evil, when it is really nothing more than a conflict of interests."

"A conflict of interests?" Devlin goaded, arms still raised as Darcey bled out inches away. "That's what you call this, you sick bastard? You hurt all those innocent people for a 'conflict of interests'?"

"I don't think young Darcey there is what you'd call innocent. I know you're blinded by 'loyalty' to your fellow officers… but that girl is anything but loyal. Or innocent."

Devlin shot up to his feet, but Foyet very quickly and deliberately changed his aim. He pointed his gun at Hotch, and it all went down in a second.

Two shots were fired. One fatal.

* * *

_Reviews are love…_

_The moonlight makes us do the hippogriff. And yes we can dance like a hippogriff na na na, na na na, na na na! We may be crazy but you know you love us - more craziness from this chapter:_

_Ava (typing): 'Rossi … brushed his sweaty matted hair from in front of his eyes.'_  
_Cara: "Maybe you should mention that it's Reid's hair he's brushing back."_  
_Ava: "Yeah people may be wondering how Rossi's hair is sweaty and in front of his eyes."_  
_Cara: "You're determined to make this story slash aren't you?"_  
_*Queue random slash conversation*_

_*During a chapter read-through*_  
_Cara: " 'Reid he said-' Oh, good luck with the periodic table by the way."_  
_Ava: "Oh s***! I forgot about that!"_  
_Cara: "That's the main reason I let you be Reid!"  
_  
_Cara: " He walked behind the…"_  
_Ava: "Police officer?"_  
_Cara: "The young police officer. I'm not having him hug Devlin!"_


	24. Reunited: Rescued? Part I

_**Summary: **__It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world. _

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart': **__Most of the team have been kidnapped and tortured. The rest of the team now know their location. They have managed to find what's left of the team. But time is running out… Haley, JJ, Officer Cameron Garvey, SWAT Officer Charlie Sierra. The death toll is rising. But Hotch finally tracked down the Reaper. Two shots have been fired, one fatal. This is it. Who's the casualty - and will there be more?_

_**Authors' Note: **__The most hilarious thing happened the last week. So there Ava was, reading some fics (as you do) about 24 hours after posting the last chapter. We both thought we were so original - "how will we keep Reid awake? He's got a PhD in chemistry - the periodic table of elements of course!" So imagine Ava's surprise when she decides to read the fabulous follow-up to a story, the sequel titled 'What We Have Left'. Which also involves a not-so conscious Reid reciting the table of elements. And it was posted first- so we look like plagiarists. Woo. Although thankfully there was no singing of the Nickelodeon song. That may have been too much to handle! And author/loyal reviewer Sparky Shark thought it was quite funny too, so it's all good! Shout outs to reviewers - __the-vampire-act__ (who was quick to pick up on our, ahem, 'misspelling' of the word 'reiding' - errr, we mean reading!), __PrincessHotch__, __nexis44__, __imajazzbandnerd__ (who played find the Harry Potter reference) and __Nymphadora-CullenBAU__ . Cara says she shall reply to the last of you guys when she can! And you guys must be sick of our cliff-hangers right? Well, we give you another! Happy reiding!_

_X Cara and Ava._

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty Three - Reunited; Rescued? Part One.**_

_'Criminals do not die by the hands of the law; they die by the hands of other men.' ~ __George Bernard Shaw_

Loud sirens blared in the distance. Help was on the way.

But Elle Greenaway was worried. Since Hotch, Gideon and that detective had left, they'd done little to keep her in the loop. She didn't know where anybody was - only Morgan and Emily… and… and JJ.

She heard the approaching sirens grow closer, and could tell there would certainly be at least half a dozen vehicles waiting outside when they went back to 'normality'.

She turned to Emily, "You ready?"

She nodded determinedly, but Elle could see the fear in her eyes. Elle got to her feet, and Emily tried to do the same, before swaying and collapsing back against the wall, her dislocated shoulder taking the blow. Morgan immediately went over to help, but Emily shook him off.

"I can do it myself!" she insisted. She attempted to get to her feet once again by herself, but was back on the floor quicker than last time. Morgan tried to grab her arm before she hit the concrete ground completely, but she immediately recoiled.

"Don't," she mumbled quietly, "please please don't."

Horror struck, Morgan let go of her arm and tried not to look as hurt as he felt, "I would never hurt you, you know that don't you Princess?"

"Just don't." Emily said, and instead looked at Elle, who took Emily's uninjured right arm and hauled her to her feet. Morgan limped ahead of them, holding the wall for support. He looked pained, but not just because of his injuries, Elle suspected.

With one arm wrapped around her waist, Elle slowly lead a trembling Emily out of the basement they both knew would haunt their dreams for years to come. Elle squeezed her side slightly, knowing that the noise, bright lights and people around the estate would be intimidating.

It was hectic outside, lights flashing sirens blaring as more and more people arrived at the scene. Ambulances were pulled up nearby, their doors flung open, ready for the captives who'd need seeing to. Morgan was already sitting in the back of one, his burns being cleaned. Elle started to lead her to the nearest medic, but Emily stopped her.

"Wait a sec, " Emily said quietly, "I need to talk to Morgan."

She pulled away from the brunette, pausing for a moment to regain her balance before heading slowly, cautiously towards her colleague.

"Can I talk to you?" Emily asked, leaning against the door of the ambulance.

She crossed her arms, hugging herself tightly. It reminded Morgan of when they found Reid in Georgia, Tobias dead beside him. He had looked just as vulnerable, just as frail. He shook his head slightly; vulnerable and frail were never words he would have used to describe Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss. But, that was then - before everything, before she had seen what she had seen, been tortured and abused the way she had.

The EMT looked at his patient, who nodded his consent. "Ok, I'll be back."

"What's up?" Morgan asked wincing as he shifted on the hard metal of the floor of the ambulance, where he was sitting.

"Just wanted to..." she paused, "what happened down there, stays between us."

"Em..?"

"I'm serious. If you mention it to _anyone _I swear to God, I'll never speak to you again."

"But Emily they need -"

"It never happened, Ok?" She started to walk away towards Elle.

"Emily!" Morgan called. "Are we... are we ok?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "maybe, we will be... soon. In time?" she looked at her feet, still not meeting his eyes.

"I can wait."

She smiled slightly and nodded, seeing his double meaning

.

Her mask was good, but Elle could tell she was afraid. She knew that Emily hated it; she had gone from being in her element, completely at ease in an atmosphere like this, to being terrified and jumpy.

Elle knew how she felt. She sighed as she remembered the aftermath of her shooting. The nightmares, the desire to escape. The fear.

Prentiss reached the ex-agent, shaking. She seemed ashamed, which Elle reminded herself was only to be expected if her suspicions were right, which she had a sinking feeling, they were.

"Give it time." she whispered pulling her close. She felt a trickle fall on her neck as Emily hesitantly hugged her back. The first of the tears. There'd be more to come. And Elle swore to herself that she'd be there when they did.

At that moment, her phone rang in her pocket, and she felt like smiling for the first time in the last few days when she saw who was calling her. She placed the phone to her ear and had barely uttered, "Garcia -" when she was completely interrupted.

"My flight just landed in Atlanta - damn commercial flights, it's a connective flight. That cheating bastard who I blackmailed to give me the tickets lied - how dare he lie to me!"

"Penelope-"

"That's right I'm Penelope! And I am sending his girlfriend and boss's husband that tape-"

Elle smiled as she listened to her friend rant and rave and handed her cell to the one person she knew could calm Garcia better than anyone.

"- those dirty naughty tapes with such poor lighting-"

Morgan smiled as he pressed the phone to his ear and replied, "You think we could make better ones, Baby Girl?"

Despite the naughty intent of the statement, Garcia had never heard any words more beautiful coming from her chocolate Adonis's mouth.

"With my skills, and your body, you know we could make it work," she replied, smiling.

"I've missed you Baby Girl." Morgan said, smiling even as the paramedic returned and poked and prodded him.

"When my next flight lands you can _show_ me how much you've missed me, Hot Stuff."

"PG or the explicit version?"

"If my three-legged kitten's around it's gonna have to be PG; his innocence shouldn't be corrupted by our show of affection."

"Pen? Your three-legged kitten?" Morgan asked bemused.

"Reid! Reid's my three-legged kitten. Honey, keep up"

"I'm not sure I want to know, but I'm going to ask anyway. Where's Reid's third leg?"

Garcia spoke slowly, as if to her Godson " Reid's on crutches, so one of his legs isn't working. If it was working he'd have four legs, but it's not, so he only has three."

"I like that explanation better than the one I was expecting to hear."

"My dirty little knight, what, pray tell, where you expecting me to say?"

"Please don't make me say it Hot Mama." Morgan said, as the paramedic stitching up his cheek took a break as his sniggering turned into outright laughter.

"I'm just wondering where _you _thought his third leg would be, I've been flying for so long… I just don't think I seem to be on the same system provider as you Hot Stuff." Garcia replied devilishly.

"I can't do that Baby Girl," Morgan replied, "Otherwise next time I see your three-legged kitten I won't be able to take him seriously."

When Garcia didn't reply immediately, Morgan couldn't figure out what he'd said wrong. Sure, he hadn't seen Rossi or Reid since their rescue, but Reid rarely went on raids these days when all he could do was hobble. None the less, he knew that their conversation, which had felt like he was in a bubble away from all the hurt and pain of reality, was about to get serious.

"So…" Garcia began slowly, "Reid… isn't with you? Than… where is he? Is he hurt?"

Morgan was even more confused. Why would Reid be with him? Surely Garcia still knew that Reid wasn't fit for fieldwork just yet? "Baby Girl -"

"And, and Boss-man, did, did he find his family? Are they having a big happy reunion? And are Rossi and Gideon off arguing again? Is Rossi's noph b'eeding again? Is Emily Princess finished kicking criminal ass? Not in a dead kind of way, but in a her-job-is-done kind of way. No! Her job-is-done-for-the-day kind of way! As in she'll be back to kick criminal ass tomorrow - well maybe not tomorrow but kicking criminal ass in the near future, the very near future. Because that's what Emily does she kicks criminal ass and looks awesome and fabulous when doing so….Is she ok? And what about JJ? You need to get that chick some coffee, because it's been way to long since she last had caffeine in her veins. So are they?"

"Are they what, Sweetheart?"

"Are they safe? Is everyone safe and alive?"

"Baby Girl, this is -"

From Garcia's end Morgan could hear "_This is an announcement for all passengers for flight number DL1769 for Orlando International. Can all passengers please proceed to the departure gate to begin boarding. All passengers for flight number DL1769 for Orlando International please proceed to the departure gate. Thank you."_

"That's me." Garcia said unnecessarily, her voice a few octaves higher than usual. "I'll be there as soon as Garcia-ly possible. I might even threaten the pilot….Is that a federal crime?"

"Go crazy lady! I'll see you soon."

"Ok, I'm making my over to the gate now, You'd better be alive when I get there!"

"Baby Girl. I love you. You know that, right?"

"I love you too. I'll love you even more if you don't die during my flight. Are you on your way to the hospital now?

"Yeah, I'm sitting in the back of the ambulance now."

"Check it for a bomb! Knowing you there's a bomb in there!"

Morgan heard a terrified squeak from what he assumed was a fellow passenger, and not long after a loud voice.

"_Ma'am you can't use that on a commercial flight, could you please have it switched off until you have exited the aircraft."_

"If your friends were dying, and you weren't there, I would have let you use your cell phone in my office, but now… now I'm not so sure. Do you know who I am? I'm Supervisory Special Agent Penelope Garcia, and do you know what happened last time I was Georgia? I had to watch my friend_ die -_and then be resuscitated, but that's not the point!"

"_I'm sorry Ma'am if you're in a stressful situation.-"_

"A stressful situation? Don't talk to me about 'stressful situations' I don't see you being locked up in your bat cave for sixteen hours a day, looking through the lives of evil people and occasionally watching innocent people get killed, and not know if all your friends are going to get home from the cases….You weren't sent creepy pictures of your possibly dead friend and you aren't working this case so you, Mrs Airhostess lady, can't say anything to me about stressful situations. Ok? You just can't."

Morgan was shocked at her outburst. He'd never heard her that mad - or thought about what she went through during their cases. He knew that others, who weren't on the team seemed to think she had a cushy job, but now here was proof Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia had anything but a cushy job.

"Hot stuff, you still there?"

"I'm still here, Baby. Sounds like you got a promotion! You know impersonating a federal agent is a crime?"

"I am a Federal Agent. …I'm just not a Supervisory Special Agent."

"You better do as the nice Air hostess lady says and turn off that cell of yours, before you get kicked off the flight, and I know you don't want to wait around for another."

"You're only calling her nice, because you like a lady in uniform."

"Call me when you flight lands. I love you Baby Girl. Stay safe."

* * *

Admittedly, it had been a battle of wills as to who would go and lead the medics to the basement, as whoever had that job would have to leave Reid's side. But as the ambulance's sirens grew closer and Reid's face grew paler, eventually Gideon heeded and trotted up the stairs to fetch the paramedics. He returned promptly with only one, a young man that Rossi wasn't even sure was older than Reid. He took the stairs more than two at a time, and fell down to his knees next to Reid, Gideon standing over his shoulder. He hated it. The first time he was seeing Reid in over two years. And here he was. Dying.

"What's wrong with him?" Rossi asked, and Gideon was surprised to here genuine worry in his voice barely hidden.

"I have my suspicions," the young paramedic replied, "Quite a few of them actually. But I need a few questions answered first - and honestly. I'm not here to judge, I just want to help your friend. What's the name of this agent?"

"Spencer Reid," Rossi replied, and Gideon pulled a face as he omitted the 'Dr.' part.

"How long has he been in this condition?" the medic asked, taking a pulse and frowning at the result, muttering quietly but what sounded to Gideon like, _'irregular heartbeat'._

Rossi looked flustered as he brushed back his hair, breathing deeply. "I think I've been here maybe an hour. He wasn't looking great then." Spencer groaned quietly, his eyes flickering open briefly.

"So over an hour?"

It was at this point Reid's hash, ragged breathing started to sound worse. Almost as if he was drowning. The paramedic quickly turned the young doctor onto his side raising him slightly as he coughed. Rossi gasped as he saw more blood, a lot more blood than last time.

"Well, we had him reciting the periodic table of elements for a while," Gideon explained, trying to sound unperturbed. Trying to remain normal.

"How far did you get?" the paramedic asked. Gideon wondered if he was trying to make conversation or just genuinely curious.

"Arsenic." He replied, wondering if it meant anything to the medic.

The paramedic examined Reid's right arm, where the rash was extremely prominent - along with some trace marks. He hesitated before asking; "As far as you know, has Agent Reid ever used drugs for...recreational activities?" When he noticed the tense silence, the paramedic added, "Like I said I'm not here to judge. This could be important in helping your friend."

It was Gideon who answered this time, albeit reluctantly. "Yes, dilaudid. He got addicted about three or four years ago after being drugged on a case we were working. Last time I saw him he was...um..."

Rossi realised that Gideon didn't know if Reid had even gotten completely clean or relapsed; he'd left before he could find out. Jason's personal issues outweighing the young doctor's.

"He's been clean a while. You'd have to find out from the others how long, but I've been back on the team two, nearly three years and I don't think he's been...using in that time."

There was silence once again, while the paramedic assessed Reid. He seem more preoccupied by the rash on his arm more than the fact that Reid was coughing blood.

"Has-" he began, but stopped himself.

"Yes?" Rossi encouraged.

"This may seem like a strange question, but has Agent Reid had a blood transfusion recently?" he asked, looking from one agent to the other. Rossi found that his mouth was working faster than Gideon's.

"How recent is recent?" Rossi asked confused.

"I mean within the last twenty four hours." the paramedic replied. He seemed focused on the rash on Reid's arm rather than the trace marks.

"Not that I know of-" Gideon began, but Rossi gasped in horror.

"Can I borrow some gloves?" he asked the bemused paramedic. He nodded and Rossi grabbed two gloves from his kit and pulled on the gloves. He walked over to the bag he'd found originally and pulled out several syringes.

"He was being held captive, it must have been done against his will." Rossi clarified as he handed the paramedic the syringes. All four were empty, but they all saw the spot of crimson at the end of one of them. The paramedic took apart the syringe to investigate and sniffed it.

"Blood." the paramedic deduced needlessly.

They had known that already though, what they didn't know was what exactly had happened.

"…How…" Rossi began, wondering where the blood had come from. Was it Reid's? Foyet's? Some one else's entirely?"

The paramedic examined another vial, which was completely empty, another which he found only traces of water in.

It was the last vial he smelled, frowned and handed it to Gideon. Gideon cautiously sniffed it and sighed, "Dilaudid."

Rossi was quick to argue, "It may not have been his choice. He wasn't lying here when I found him."

"Where was he?" the paramedic asked. Rossi hesitated before nodding towards the chest in the corner, crutches thrown carelessly on the floor next to them.

Gideon's face paled. The paramedic changed his attention from Reid's rash arm to his leg. There was blood dried on his leg, from several slashes most of which cut over the recovering gunshot wound on his thigh. Neither Rossi nor Gideon had seen it before, and cringed as the paramedic ripped the material to have a better look.

"This is going to need looking at... how recent is the bullet wound?"

Once again it was Rossi who answered. "Two months I think. He was about ready to come off the crutches...so much for that!"

"Seems Agent Reid's been through a lot, and not just on this case. He's lucky he's surrounded by people like you. People who care." Gideon shifted uncomfortably at this, the Paramedic continued, "He's gonna need good friends getting over this."

The room was suddenly silent. Reid's coughing had stopped, as had his rasping breathing.

The paramedic pulled out a pager and typed frantically into it, before explaining, "I think Agent Reid is the priority right about now, I'm just trying to make sure he will be first in an ambulance."

There was something is his voice that made Gideon and Rossi sure that Reid had just taken a sudden turn for the worst. That and the fact that another paramedic came charging down the steps not more than two minutes later, carrying much more equipment than Rossi thought necessary.

"Forgot a few things did you Mark?" the older female paramedic commented as she came to a halt in front of Reid.

Both Gideon and Rossi resented their clearly fake perky attitude. It wasn't helping anybody.

"Got a cause?" the female paramedic asked the male one, kneeling down next to him over Reid. The male paramedic hesitated before answering.

"Fever, chills, I think maybe even a case of hypotension."

"Those are symptoms," the female medic replied, "of what do you think?"

The medic said nothing as he pointed at the rash on Reid's arm, and than the vials laying not to far away. Their eyes met, and Gideon and Rossi knew that the medics had a diagnosis for Reid. Seconds later, the male medic confirmed this,

"Lisa, I'm pretty sure he's suffering from AHTR."

"AHTR?" Rossi cut in.

"Acute Hemolytic Transfusion Reaction." Lisa the female medic supplied, before turning to the other paramedic again sceptically asking, "What makes you say that though? This isn't exactly a hospital environment and his leg is bleeding pretty badly but not badly enough for a -"

The female medic was silenced when her partner held up the vial again, blood lingering at the bottom. He sighed, "I'd make a bet that if we look even harder we'd fine some more hypodermic needles lying around here. To have a reaction this bad he's got to be O, most likely negative -"

"HEY!" Rossi interrupted. Both the paramedics immediately looked at the profiler, a little surprised. But Rossi needed them to explain what was going on to him.

"I already asked you if Agent Reid has had a blood transfusion recently and, well. I'm fairly certain that that is why you found him in the condition he is," he held up the vial one more time, as Gideon and Rossi stared at it, finally in comprehension and horror. The medic continued, "I'm fairly sure this was a botched home-done job."

Gideon's face clouded as he thought of what he had witnessed of Foyet. He would never have given Reid a blood transfusion to save his life.

_"Georgia wasn't the first lucky lady I took an extra souvenir from, but I was more prepared this time around. Better equipped."_

_"What sort of 'souvenir'?"_

_"I'm not the person you should ask. Now, perhaps if you asked Dr. Reid the same question, you'd get a better answer."_

"That bastard," Gideon groaned. Rossi looked at him in surprise, questioning him. Gideon continued. "Foyet. He told us all not too long ago he took something from all the victims. And that Reid would be the one to ask about it."

Rossi was horror-struck. He knew now. When Morgan had returned from the morgue, they had all questioned what had been done that resulted in trace marks on all the victims if they weren't users. And now they knew. Rossi felt sick as the words left his lips.

"Foyet's souvenir was a vial of his victim's blood."

* * *

As soon as the shot was fired, Devlin took his queue to immediately staunch the flow of blood that was seeping from his Junior Officer's abdomen. All the time he'd been in Orlando, he'd never ever found himself in any situation like this. He'd never had to try and keep a fellow officer alive while two bodies lay a few feet away from him.

"Are you okay?" Devlin asked the only man still standing.

Hotch didn't answer. He couldn't figure out why Foyet hadn't even tried. He turned over the body at his feet with his leg, so Foyet's face was clearly in view. Even in death, he didn't look defeated. After all the team had been through since the beginning of the case, it all seemed too anti-climatic. It felt too easy. Too fast - Foyet had obviously known he wasn't getting out of it this time - but why would he have accepted death so inevitably? Why hadn't he even tried to aim better, to shoot to kill?

There had to be something he was missing. Hotch got down to Devlin's level, getting down on his knees next to him. He looked at the young woman on the ground and part of him couldn't help but think that she'd got what she'd deserved. He looked back at Foyet, paranoid that he'd somehow manage to get up and start shooting again, despite the fact that a round right through his forehead wouldn't have him standing ever again. He decided to distract himself as best he could.

"What's the damage?" he asked, looking at the amount of blood lingering on the ground.

"It's not looking good," Devlin replied bluntly, "One in the abdomen, one in the shoulder - looks like it could've broken her collar bone. But one barely even grazed her side, so it could be worse-"

And did get worse, as at that moment, Darcey started making a strange noise. Devlin was confused but Hotch hauled him out of the way just as Darcey violently vomited on the spot he was just kneeling. Devlin looked appalled to see spots of blood in the puke, and Darcey opened her eyes.

"My house. Go."

The two men looked at each other, convinced she was losing it. She continued, "No time to waste. My house, finding Nemo when I left. Pop tarts. I think the supply is running low. I think I'll get chocolate next time, the strawberry is too sticky. My poor carpet."

"Darcey-" Devlin began.

"Why are we just laying around?" she asked outraged, though her rage was a little pathetic in her current state.

"You go get help," Devlin urged Hotch, "I'll stay here. She's my officer, accomplice or no. You know you'd do the same for any of your agents, 'double-crosser' or not."

Unable to argue, Hotch got to his feet and made his way to the stairs. As he got to the foot of the stairs, an unusual smell filled Hotch's nostrils and Hotch froze as a terrible thought crossed his mind. He looked at Devlin over the struggling form of Darcey Miles, and asked him hurriedly, "Why did you say these houses couldn't sell?"

Devlin, hands still pressed against the young officer to prevent more blood loss, replied rather indifferently, "Well the rumour was that they couldn't sell because the gas lines were a little faulty. Which left them here in disrepair and at the disposal of people like Foyet. Why?"

Hotch looked over his shoulder and followed the logistics of where Foyet's bullet would have ended up. He was aghast to see a small, bullet shaped hole in the gas pipe.

Foyet's final insurance policy.

Hotch leapt to his feet, "Kenneth, we have to! -"

KABOOM.

* * *

_DL1769 is a real Orlando bound flight, leaving in late September. Fact!_

_Reviews are love._


	25. Reunited: Rescued? Part II

_**Summary: **It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:** Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world. _

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart': **The Reaper has hurt our team in unimaginable ways. He may be no more, but even in death he managed to blow up a house. What skills and commitment that man has. Injury list: Rossi was shot but saved by his Kevlar vest but fell down some stairs instead. Morgan has some nasty cuts and burns but thankfully some nice people are looking after him. Emily was ultimate whumped, along with a nice little dislocated shoulder and a serious slice into her chest. Hotch just got blown up. Darcey's been shot a few times and blown up. Devlin's been blown up. The Reaper was shot dead and blew some people up, along with himself. Or have they been blown up? Hmmm... Oh and JJ's dead, along with Haley, Officer Cameron Garvey, SWAT Officer Charlie Sierra and now the big bad Boston Reaper, George Foyet. Will Reid be joining them with his body attacking itself? Will a few more casualties be joining the death toll due to our kaboom? Read on to find out. _

_**Authors' Note: **Sorry for the serious delay but we focused on another one of our projects ('A Rose Once Grew', two one shots thus far on JJ's possible exits. Not to spoil them, but we can assure you that we do not kill JJ in 'A Rose Once Grew'! Yet… go read!) Also, serious technical difficulties with Ava's laptop prevented the chapter from appearing. Hopefully its worth the wait, we have bestowed quite a lengthy chapter on you. Thank you reviewers as per usual - __the-vampire-act__, __PrincessHotch__, __nexis44__, __imajazzbandnerd__, and new reviewers __sal-e13__ and __lolyncut__, who read the whole thing in one sitting. Nice to have you guys with us! (And lolyncut is very perceptive as far as the transfusion is concerned… that's all we're saying. This chapter also introduces four characters who are semi important because they speak in very medical terms. And one of them is named after two awesome people! Some medical terms explained, just below the usual 'reviews are love' plea. And here's a game to play (if you want to gain a lot of weight that is.) Choose a character's name, adjective and verb and eat something (like little cut up pieces of pop tarts, which is highly recommended. But M & M's, Skittles and pieces of fruit will work too. Grapes are probably the safest option) every time the words are mentioned. It is fun… we swear. Spoilers for random episodes through the series as usual, including Amplification, Faceless Nameless. Anyways, enough with our ramblings on to someone else's… like our Hotch man… happy reiding._

_x Cara and Ava._

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty Four - Reunited; Rescued? Part Two.**_

"_It is a fact that cannot be denied: the wickedness of others becomes our own wickedness because it kindles something evil in our own hearts." ~ __Carl Jung_

He didn't expect to be let through the gates of heaven. Sure, Hotch had done good things in his life. But all the people he'd saved, what did it matter when he couldn't save the two people that mattered more than anything to him.

It killed him that Haley had died feeling resentment toward him. She had died still carrying anger that he had been forced to uproot her and Jack's life in Virginia - because of the Reaper. And it had all been in vain when it came right down to things. She was dead, because of the Reaper. He had failed her. If this was hell, he deserved to be here.

It felt like he was in hell. Not just emotionally. He could almost feel the flames licking his face. He could feel the heat pressing in on him. He could hear the screaming of tormented souls…

Aaron Hotchner opened his eyes, and saw that he was jumping the gun a little. He may not have been completely in hell, in one sense at least.

He was still in the basement. He was still alive. How he'd survived the blast, he didn't know. Luck?

He didn't feel like he was in too much pain, but his ears were ringing. A long forgotten souvenir of that damn New York case.

But aside from the ringing, he could hear something else that didn't fit in with the New York case. He could hear a woman screaming. Shrieks of agony. That wasn't right, even for all the pain she was in, Agent Joyner hadn't screamed once.

Hotch looked around him, from the partially destroyed stairs to his side to further over, where he could see four outlined figures. Three out of the four were lying limp - only one showed any signs of life.

Hotch slowly got to his feet, finding it difficult to balance as he did so. His head span but he clambered over two still forms to the third one.

"Kenneth?" he called the detective, panicked to see a large bump on his head. Hotch was filled with relief when, although the detective didn't respond to his name being called, Hotch gripped his wrist and could feel life beating through his veins.

But for how much longer? Hotch knew they weren't in a very sturdy environment and that at any time the roof could collapse. He was going to have to get him out of here…

Almost as if to avoid being neglected, Hotch heard another loud pained cry. He glanced over at the young police officer and flinched. The concrete ground around her was completely submerged in a pool of blood, and yet she was still losing what little blood she had left.

Hotch had a decision to make. Who to take first? The person who had trusted his own people and was now paying the price for it? Or the person who had betrayed her own people and now others had been caught in her web of deceit? Someone who had a family to help him through his recovery? Someone who had a prison sentence to look forward to once she'd had time to recuperate?

He knew he wasn't being just, fair or anyway like himself, but if Officer Miles had come forward with the fact that it was Foyet behind the killings, which she'd obviously known all along, they could have saved JJ… Haley… the team could have been spared their latest bout of pain and suffering. He knew he didn't know the full story but at that point he didn't care - only about the detective who had risked his life to help Hotch get his team back rather than the person who had put them in that situation to begin with.

He knew it would be difficult. Hotch wasn't Morgan, wasn't renowned for his strength. Detective Devlin wasn't a particularly light man. But he did his best and thrust the older detective over his shoulder and into an awkward fireman's carry. He took a hesitant look at the struggling police officer, who was gazing up at him with an air of lucidity. She knew damn well what he was doing.

But he couldn't stop. The building was burning around them and he had to get Devlin out of there. Even if the fire itself hadn't done a lot of damage, the smoke inhaled could cause as much damage. Almost as soon as he had that thought, once he had reached the stairs the smoke seemed to get thicker and Hotch had an over whelming feeling of suffocation. He had to make it up those steps… but his legs seemed to get weaker, yet heavier. His legs felt like lead, impossible to manoeuvre.

It felt like a life time before he reached the door, and groaned when he remembered how forcefully Gideon had slammed the door. Knowing that there was the possibility that the handle would be red-hot from the heat, Hotch decided to try a more Morgan-suited tactic. Praying that the heat would have weakened the door hinges, Hotch reluctantly threw his weight against the door and to his immense relief, the door collapsed off its hinges. Possibly from all the abuse it had endured in the last hour alone.

The scene was one to behold. Paramedics and now the Crime Scene Units were arriving and were now running around like headless chickens, unsure where to begin first. Hotch could hear the distinct noise of a fire truck in the distant background, and more sirens to come.

Through all the chaos, he swore he heard someone scream his name. It was difficult to say - the ringing wasn't stopping.

He continued walking forward until he could feel someone tug at his shoulder.

A paramedic. A man. With a stretcher.

"-help?"

"I'm sorry?" Hotch enquired. He hadn't been aware that the man was speaking.

"Is this man the only casualty or is there anyone else that needs help?" the man asked. Seeing the remains of his team in the distant background, and that Detective Devlin had all the help he could get for the moment Hotch's reaction was done perhaps out of spite.

"No," he began, "There's no one else that needs your help."

Taking the hint, he laid Devlin on the stretcher, nodded at the paramedic before indicating the fallen detective and asking the paramedic,

"Take care of him."

Stumbling over to Morgan and Prentiss, he breathed a sigh of relief.

" ...right!" he saw Prentiss say.

"I can't hear, what did you say?"

He managed to read her lips enough to understand "We saw the explosion…. - you're all right." The ringing in his ears was alternating between being able to hear and nails being hammered into his ears. He wasn't sure which was worse. When he could hear, his ears were filled with sounds of sirens, panicked mutterings, the hiss of the flames and maybe… maybe he was imagining it… a scream. A loud piercing, begging scream of agony. It was the kind of scream that, upon hearing, his body itched to help. Through all his years at the Bureau, he had never ignored it.

This time he did.

"…checked out."

He felt a hand on his arm.

"Hotch." Morgan nodded to the paramedic. Hotch turned around looking confused. He raised an eyebrow in question.

"Medics need to check you out, man. You didn't think you could escape them, did you?" Morgan asked, his attempt at humour obviously forced.

"Yeah." Hotch nodded, seeming dazed. He muttered to himself as he followed the medic.

Prentiss followed their boss with her eyes. Morgan seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Another one bites the dust."

"Don't Derek, just….don't." Emily said before turning to look for Elle. Before she had strayed too far, a firm hand gripped hers. Emily gasped and spun around in horror at the contact. The hands flew from her arm and held them up in mock surrender.

"Whoa! Easy! I'm one of the good guys." It was only a paramedic, young and inexperienced looking. It seemed like she'd just qualified as a paramedic the night before - and this was her first outing. Luckily she was perceptive and understood that perky was the last thing Emily wanted or needed right now.

"Mind if I check you out?" she asked in a kind tone, "Looks like you've really been to hell… and back. Can I ask you your name?"

"You can ask." Emily grumbled in response.

It was Morgan, who was currently having the cut on his cheek cleaned, who answered, "Her name's Emily. Emily Princess."

Emily smiled slightly at the old endearment. A reminder of times past… times they'd never get back…

The medic sat Emily on the edge of the van and leaning against the door of the ambulance said "Well hi there Emily, my name's Melissa. I'm gonna get you to sit here for a few minutes while I check you over. Let me know if at any point you feel…uncomfortable, and we can…work around it."

Emily nodded mutely.

The medic scrutinized her arm, "This was nicely bandaged up." Melissa said appreciatively, absentmindedly running her fingers over the soft material of the sling. Emily pulled her arm away.

"Do you mind if I take the sling off?" Melissa asked gently. Seeing it was obviously of some importance to the agent she added "you can hold on to it if you want."

Emily nodded, and whispered a small "thank you," when the medic tenderly handed it to her.

"As professional as this looks, it seems to have had it's day. I'm gonna put it in a fresh sling, plus it'll make it easier for the hospital, so you can get fixed up a little quicker!"

Emily snorted, "A clean sling is going to get _me _out of hospital faster." she looked down at her most noticeable injuries, before shaking her head. "Yeah, right. That's really gonna make a difference."

Melissa gritted her teeth and after taking a deep breath smiled again before chuckling, "Well you know what they say …every little helps!"

"How do you do it?" Emily asked with slight awe.

"Do what?" Melissa asked tying the final knot in the sling.

"I've been a complete moody bitch from the offset and yet you smile and let it all blow over. You've been nothing but nice to me and I've been horrible to you!"

"I don't know exactly what happened to you all, but from what I've gathered so far, I think you're entitled to be a little moody and unreasonable."

"Hey, I said moody and horrible, I said nothing about being unreasonable." Emily replied in mock outrage, her slight smile warming the young paramedics heart.

_Looks like there's hope for her yet._ She thought, _if she can smile and joke a little, there's still a chance she'll be ok. _

"I'm just gonna check your pupils and then-" Melissa was interrupted by her pager.

"What the-" she stood back from her patient for a moment, before muttering " what's AHTR?"

Emily stared blankly, " I went to Yale, not medical school. Sorry."

"You let me down Emily!" Melissa chuckled before turning her attention back to the emergency page before her. " AHTR? Arrgg! I know it but I just can't think what - Acute Hemolytic Transfusion Reaction! I got it! Haha, yes I got it.!- Oh crap, that's not good…."

"What's a cute homeostatic transfusion reaction?" Morgan asked, wincing as his paramedic applied gauze onto the burn on his hand.

"Acute Hemolytic Transfusion Reaction?" Melissa repeated.

"That's what I said." Morgan retorted. "But what is it?"

"A serious reaction to a blood transfusion. It happens when someone gets the wrong blood type during a transfusion. The main differences between blood types is only the fact that some blood types have an extra structure on them, a protein, whereas others have none. So when someone gets the wrong blood type, the extra structure isn't recognised so the cells attack each other. That's hemolysis. The blood cells destroying each other."

"So… what you're trying to say… is it's serious?" Morgan offered.

Melissa nodded, "Very much so. How someone here could have it, I don't know. The most common cause is clerical error in a hospital."

"Trust us, we always seem to manage to break the boundaries of normality. It's something that seems to follow us."

"I'm sure that's not true -"

"Not true? A few months ago, one of our team members got infected with a very rare strain of anthrax."

"Oh. Well I'm sure -"

"Than he got shot a week later, not long after our boss got stabbed nine times." Morgan explained bluntly. Melissa had no answer. Morgan continued, "Now he's MIA."

"What?" Emily exclaimed.

"Well that's what I gathered from my conversation with my Baby Girl." Morgan said despondently

Melissa leaned in quickly to Emily as she got to her feet, "Stay sitting. I'll have to have someone else over to you to finish your exam before we can ship you off to the hospital."

Emily looked at her, panic in her eyes, "Why?"

Before Melissa could answer her pager buzzed again. She looked at the page and frowned, before turning to Emily again. "I'm so sorry, Emily, I really have to go. I'll check in on you at the hospital. Promise!"

"Alex!" she called to a paramedic in the distance, "Can you take over? My notes are beside her. Thanks, I owe you!"

Emily swung her legs, keeping her eyes on her feet at all times. Anything to avoid Morgan's gaze. She heard paper rustling, before a strong hand grabbed her good shoulder. A strong male hand.

She shrugged it off violently. "Get away from me," she hissed menacingly.

He studied the notes before him, "So you're Melissa's patient?" He held out his hand, smiling. "Hi, I'm Alex."

Morgan looked at the newest arrival and groaned, "Is anyone here older than thirty?"

"I'm thirty in March." Alex supplied needlessly.

"Great." Morgan muttered, rolling his eyes. " Good thing Pen isn't here, she wouldn't be able to control herself."

"And you can?" came a voice, "Come on all, these lovely young ladies, and zilch from you?"

"What can I say Greenaway, maybe I'm a changed man?"

"I'll believe that when I see it."

"Ok, maybe not completely changed, but I'm getting there, besides you've always found me endearing, right Elle?"

"Um, sure….that's one word for it!" She turned to Emily, "How you doing?" she asked with a subtle nod towards the new medic.

Emily didn't reply, instead choosing to watch the flames flickering. A dark silhouette seemed to run through the blaze. Emily blinked thinking it was just her imagination. When she opened her eyes again the shadow was slowly fading, coupled with the cry of;

"I haven't finished your examination! NO! Agent Hotchner, don't do it!"

* * *

Melissa Cook was a barely qualified paramedic. Hell, most of the people who were attempting to aid the injured FBI agents were from her class, and now they were trying to help some severely injured agents.

As a woman, she only needed to take one look at Agent Prentiss to know what was wrong with her. With Agent Morgan, all his injuries were superficial, skin deep. Agent Prentiss's injuries went way below the surface. And Melissa had to think the dark terms of what had happened to her.

Sexually assaulted was the clinical way of putting it. It didn't sound as drastic as what other people called it.

Rape.

She needed to talk to someone to truly get over what had happened. She needed a friend. And maybe she seemed to have it in Agent Greenaway, but Melissa was prepared to be that person. Once all this was over.

But Melissa had other things that she needed to concentrate on. She took one look back at Agent Prentiss as the Agent threw off her good pal and colleague Alex's arm more violently then she had thrown off Melissa's. It confirmed her suspicions. She felt a little guilty for setting both Alex and Agent Prentiss up like that, but it had been necessary. If she had to rush off to the unknown, to an emergency that she wasn't quite sure what entailed, she needed to know what was wrong with her original patient.

Melissa jogged to the house, the number of which she had been paged. She pushed the gurney ahead of her, knowing that it was of the utmost importance to get to this patient.

She wanted to see for herself what the patient looked like - she'd only been qualified a few months and this was an opportunity she had yet to see. She rushed around the back of the house and noticed the open door leading to the basement. She manoeuvred the gurney carefully so it would not hit the concrete steps too roughly, and once she reached the bottom of the steps, opened her mouth to ask a question before one of her colleagues asked her one first.

"Melissa, please tell me that there are more paramedics behind you."

Mark was looking up at her, along with Lisa, the most experienced medic they had, and two older men. The men where looking at her in absolute disdain. Melissa couldn't blame them. They had probably been expecting half a dozen experienced medics to come swarming in, rather than a lone, hardly qualified medic with a gurney.

"Have you been up there Mark?" Melissa asked as she joined the semi circle around a young agent. "It's like a zoo, two bodies accounted for, four injured at the moment and a house in flames! And some of them acting like it's all in a day's work."

The look on the agents' face made Melissa immediately regret the blunt way she'd put their colleagues' situation. Chances were, they didn't even know whose bodies she had mentioned so off-handily. So she did what anyone in her situation would. She put it to the back of her mind, acted like she hadn't said anything and quickly focused her mind at the task at hand.

"So tell me about our latest casualty?" Melissa casually asked.

"There's really no one else coming?" came Mark's slow response. Melissa shook her head. The two agents looked like they'd just been told that Santa didn't exist. He sighed and proceeded to bring Melissa up to speed as Lisa set up the fallen agent's IV line.

"Agent Spencer Reid, seems to be somewhere in his late twenties -"

"Twenty eight," came the correction from Gideon.

"…twenty eight. Suffering from Acute Hemolytic Transfusion Reaction, we don't yet know his blood type though."

"How he ended up with AHTR down here is still being speculated." Lisa said.

"These agents seem to believe that Agent Reid was poisoned." Mark added sceptically.

Melissa raised an eyebrow, "By who exactly?"

"The Boston Reaper," one of the agents added defiantly.

All the paramedics immediately stopped what they were doing and looked at Rossi. Mark was intrigued, "Why would the Reaper…"

"He has a personal vendetta against the team, he even stabbed our Unit Chief-"

"Nine times," Melissa finished. "Agent Morgan mentioned -"

"Morgan? Derek Morgan? You talked to him is he-"

"What do you care, Jason. You haven't talked to him in two years."

"Ahem." Melissa coughed, getting their attention again, "Agent Morgan is okay, and he mentioned the team's string of bad luck, like the stabbing. Is that what happened here? The Reaper came back to -"

"The Boston Reaper's motives are not part of your job description, Melissa Cook." Lisa interrupted. "Mark stop staring at Agent Rossi and finish the prepping of Agent Reid's arm for his IV. Left arm, I don't want to risk making that rash worse than it already is. Melissa I want-"

There was another interruption - a deep hacking cough. The medics looked on in horror as their critical patient coughed up scarlet blood.

"That's not a symptom of AHTR." Melissa commented, pulling out a tissue, cleaning the blood from the Agent's lips and disposing it.

"We know, Melissa." Mark snapped. All the medics were now feeling the pressure, particularly with two other agents staring at them expectantly.

"Melissa," Lisa continued as if nothing had happened, "Take a look at his leg - upper thigh. There's a half-healed gunshot wound freshly opened. I need you to clean and bandage it, he's lost a lot of blood and we don't have the time or the resources for you to suture it closed. If you have the bandage tight enough it should stop the blood loss, another transfusion is the last thing he needs right now."

Mark inserted the IV line, Lisa tried to adjust an oxygen mask to aid Reid's breathing. But Reid began coughing yet again.

Lisa whispered in a low voice so only the other medics would hear, "He's already going into shock, but could be approaching the organ failure stage soon. I don't know why the lungs are being compromised first. Other than a possible underlying lung condition."

That struck a chord with Melissa who paused mid-bandaging as she recalled the conversation she had had with the other BAU agents. She continued to simply stare at the bandage in her hands before Lisa angrily interrupted her musings, "Melissa Cook - now is NOT the time for daydreaming!"

The younger paramedic did not respond to more experienced older paramedic, but turned to the profilers and asked quite pointedly,

"Has Agent Reid had any respiratory issues in the past? Perhaps caused by any… biological contaminants?" Gideon looked absolutely bemused, but the agent with the nasty bruise on his forehead nodded knowingly.

"You seem to learn everything about our team before you got here."

"It may have come up -"

"Melissa," Lisa warned, urging her to get to the point.

"Agent Reid contracted anthrax a few months ago not long before he was shot."

Agent Rossi nodded in the affirmative as the two other medics looked absolutely dumbfounded, "A strain that specifically targeted the lungs. He almost died."

Gideon was horror-struck. This was all news to him.

"That explains the respiratory distress." Mark nodded, taping the IV in place. "IV's good."

"I'll keep an oxygen mask on him until he's at the hospital to ensure he doesn't asphyxiate. Melissa is that leg bandaged up good and tight?" Lisa asked.

"We're good to go Ma'am," Melissa replied as she finished tying the bandage. "Let's get him on the gurney and out of here."

Lisa's pager went this time, and she frowned, "GSW to the abdomen. I better get over there - but Agent Reid is still priority, he's still top of the triage. Melissa, Mark I know you're inexperienced but this is an unusual situation. It's up to you to get him to the hospital and keep him alive until you get there. I'm needed else where - I'm trusting you both."

And with that, their most experienced medic was gone.

Melissa turned to the agents, "Can you help us get him on the gurney?" They nodded and the four of them, two inexperienced medics and two seasoned FBI agents lifted Reid onto the gurney gingerly. Reid showed absolutely no awareness to the movement. The medics adjusted the IV line and oxygen mask, gathered their equipment and angled the gurney so that Agent Reid's head was towards the foot of the stairs.

Rossi leaned into the female medic and asked lowly, "Would it be okay if I went in the ambulance with him?"

Melissa gave Rossi a quick assessment before replying, "It wouldn't be the worst idea, as long as you let us do our jobs. Besides, that head needs to be checked out - you're off balance and seem to have trouble focusing your eyes. It's possible that you have a minor concussion."

Gideon looked a little resentful, as if he wished he had thought of asking for ambulance privileges first. However, he said nothing.

"Okay," Mark began, standing on one side of the gurney with Agent Rossi while Melissa occupied the other alongside Agent Gideon. All four stared at the long staircase ahead of them, feeling the dread. Mark continued,

"On three, we lift."

* * *

"Princess, it's ok, I'm here" Morgan murmured, noticing her clenched fists and gritted teeth. She never liked hospitals or medical examinations, but Morgan knew that right now, after everything that had happened, being examined- by a man nonetheless- was not at the top of her wish-list.

"Yeah, well, you were there last time too, weren't you? Didn't make much of a difference did it?" she muttered bitterly.

Morgan looked down, his eyes closed, shaking his head slowly.

"Em…" he whispered sadly, "I'm - "

"Derek," Elle said, stepping between them. She rested her hand on his shoulder. "I think your ambulance is nearly ready to head off." He stood up reluctantly, Elle following him, as they neared his medic, she glanced over her shoulder to check on Emily before calling her former colleague.

"Hey, Morgan. Stop and listen to me for a second, ok." he looked down at her, his confliction evident. "Don't apologise for … what happened. There is nothing you could have done."

"I should have done something. She begged me to help her, to make him stop…and I did nothing."

"There. Is. _Nothing. _You. Could. Have. Done." she repeated. "You were there for her, then, and I'm guessing your gonna be there for her in the aftermath."

"Damn straight." he said, fiercely.

"Then that's all anyone could expect. You're a good friend Derek, she's lucky to have you."

"Just promise me something, Greenaway."

"Anything." she nodded.

"Don't mess her around. Don't be nice as pie and her new best buddy, if you're just going to up and leave at the drop of a hat; as soon as things start getting tough. She doesn't deserve that."

"I won't, trust me. I've learnt from…past mistakes."

" I hope so Elle. I really hope so."

"We'd better get back to her," Elle nodded to Emily, who was sitting tensely as Alex continued his examination.

"But I thought, my ride was here?"

She chuckled, "I lied, I just needed to get you alone for a minute."

"Tease," he muttered, playfully punching her arm, before stopping realisation hitting him full force. She smiled softly.

"It'll get better. Easier"

"But not like before." he finished, her unspoken words ringing loudly.

"It can't be the same Derek, after all this? We just have to move onwards. Work through this, together."

As they came closer to Emily, Morgan stopped Elle, before pulling her into a hug.

"I'm glad you're back, Brooklyn. I really missed you." he whispered, into her hair

"I missed you too." she smiled into his shoulder. And, she decided seven hundred and fifty-nine miles from DC, it was good to be home.

"I'm guessing not everyone's going to be as quick to forgive are they?" Elle asked, sighing. "They all seemed so mad. Garcia snapped at us. She yelled at me. I've never heard her yell at anyone."

"She's just stressed out…and hurt that you didn't say goodbye."

"I thought a clean break would be easier." she said as they finally reached a weary looking Emily. "Clearly I was wrong about that."

She leaned against the door of the ambulance, deep in thought.

_"Don't you talk to me about getting shot! Don't try and act like I'd never know what it feels like! Maybe if you'd been paying attention to that news article that brought you here, you'd have noticed that since you left, two other people on the team were shot - and dealt with it without shooting the next scumbag possible dead!"_

"Morgan? Did something happen to Penelope after I …left?"

"She dyed her hair. A lot." Emily supplied tiredly.

Elle chuckled, "Not what I meant, but thanks. No, she said that two members of the team had been shot. She was seriously pissed off. 'Don't talk to me about getting shot.' 'Don't act like I've never known what it feels like.' Oh God, She was, wasn't she? She was shot."

Morgan nodded tensely. "Yes."

Clearly now was not the time to push for details.

"Who else?"

"Reid." Emily said.

"Still as lucky as ever then?"

"Wait till you hear, about the BAU adventures," Morgan chuckled.

"Most of them featuring the genius himself," Emily smiled slightly.

"Now he's MIA. Wonder where he's got to." Morgan said lightly, trying to play down the situation. It didn't work.

But Emily played along. "Disney World?"

They heard loud urgent voices through the hissing of the flames, over the droning of the two dozen people bustling around the scene, interrupting their conversation.

"Outta the way! Move outta the way we got a critically injured patient. Get out of the WAY!"

The FBI agents turned to see what the commotion was. A gurney was being carried out from one of the houses, the body was mostly concealed by the paramedics working over it. One medic was more familiar than the others.

"Melissa!" Emily called, The young woman moved to the side, just enough for the profiler to see familiar brown curls, flayed over the gurney, oxygen masked protruding ominously.

"Morgan? I think I just found Reid."

* * *

_What's this? No one gets shot? No explosion? Yeah… we thought we'd give you a break from all our suspenseful cliffies! Instead you are faced with the team finally being reunited… heart warming as you guys thought?_

_Some medical terms explained:_

_*Suture: In basic terms, Lisa is telling Melissa not to stitch the wound closed._

_*Asphyxiate: One of the three causes of death (Asphyxiation, Blood Loss, Cardiac Arrest) and Reid is in danger of all three. Asphyxiation is the lack of oxygen to the body which stops respiration and causes the death of cells. There are several causes of this, including suffocation, strangulation, damage to the lungs, electrocution, etc._

_*Rape: We hadn't directly used the word, so we just wanted to get it out there. Another term you can use is what we like to call the 'ultimate whump'. But if you don't know what the word itself means you probably shouldn't be reiding this._


	26. Found: Lost?

_**Summary: **__It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world. _

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart': **__The Reaper has hurt our team in unimaginable ways, but finally ended up dead at the hands of our Hotch-man. Injury list: Rossi was shot but saved by his Kevlar vest but fell down some stairs instead and has a suspected concussion. Morgan has some nasty cuts and burns but thankfully some nice people are looking after him. Emily was ultimate whumped, along with a nice little dislocated shoulder and a serious slice into her chest. Hotch just got blown up, and seems to be heading back to the fire... Darcey's been shot a few times, blown up and abandoned. Devlin's been blown up but rescued. JJ's dead, along with Haley, Officer Cameron Garvey, SWAT Officer Charlie Sierra and the big bad Boston Reaper, George Foyet. Will Reid be joining them with his body attacking itself? And where is Reid exactly. Reid on to find out. _

_**Authors' Note: **__Sorry for the slow update guys, real life's a bitch. We meant to have this updated for our one year anniversary last year - that didn't work out so well. Thanks to all our reviewers for the encouragement. Particularly you guys who make guesses at what will happen next, may be right but assume otherwise. We quote - "Don't do this to him... Let him be safe! Don't let him got to that heavenly King's Cross Station... Or heavenly Jet, whatever it is." Some of you guys really hit the nail on the head - read out to find out why, but first thanks to last times reviewers - __Spark Shark__, __the-vampire-act__, __nexis44__, __imajazzbandnerd__, __lolyncut__, __PrincessHotch__, Super. Special. Awesome. Dr. Reid __and I. Am. Cheese. And. Cheese. Is. Me_ _Sorry for the long wait as per usual… but unlike the rest of the chapters this one sort of has a satisfying ending. Still more to come though, no matter how long it takes us to churn out a chapter we would never abandon this story! Happy reiding! Oh and look out for more special guest stars in this chapter…_

_x Cara and Ava._

_Ps anything in Italics = flashbacks/fantasy_

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty Five - Found; Lost?**_

_"Now I'm told this is life, and pain's just a simple compromise so we can get what we want out of it." — __Hayley Williams_

_The FBI agents turned to see what the commotion was. A gurney was being carried out from one of the houses, the body was mostly concealed by the paramedics working over it. One medic was more familiar than the others._

_"Melissa!" Emily called, The young woman moved to the side, just enough for the profiler to see familiar brown curls, flayed over the gurney, oxygen masked protruding ominously._

_"Morgan? I think I just found Reid."_

* * *

"Melissa!" Emily cried as she attempted to limp over to the paramedic, "What's going on? What's happening to Reid?"

The scene was getting more chaotic by the minute, Rossi and Gideon were trailing behind Reid's gurney, the former with blood encrusted on his forehead. Both showed relief when they saw Morgan and Emily on their own two feet. Both felt pangs in their hearts when they saw how haunted their eyes looked.

"Melissa!" Emily cried a little more forcefully. Melissa looked at her partner as if asking for permission, who turned to her and nodded.

"I'll get him loaded into the bus, just be quick. Agent Rossi, hop in."

Rossi did what he was told, and did so while helping the young paramedic load Reid into the back of the ambulance. Melissa turned to three expectant agents, all with worry lines etched on their faces.

"Agent Reid, as I mentioned off hand earlier, has a case of Acute Hemolytic Transfusion Reaction -"

"Transfusion?" Morgan repeated in disbelief. "Now how in the hell did that happen?"

"Agent Rossi believes that the Reaper did it to poison him. We found vials and used syringes in the basement." she explained hurriedly.

"But why is there blood on his face?" Elle asked quickly.

"He's in respiratory distress, from an underlying lung damage." Melissa explained pointedly. Elle was the only one who missed what she meant by underlying lung damage.

"Melissa!" the other paramedic called from back of the ambulance, "He's critical, we have to go now!" Melissa turned to climb in but before she had the chance to she felt someone grip her arm tightly and pull her back.

"Will he be alright?" Emily asked, losing the little composure she had left.

Melissa paused for a moment, her partner still calling her name in the background. She sighed, looked at Agent Prentiss and said all she could offer, "We'll do what we can for him. You all just take care of yourselves."

With that, the young paramedic hopped into the back of the ambulance, shutting the doors behind her. The sirens blared, and the ambulance pulled away with their, as per usual unlucky team member, and friend, critically injured. Emily simply stood and stared at it until Elle and Emily's paramedic returned and stood next to her.

"Sorry Emily," the young man said to her, "We aren't quite finished with you yet."

* * *

Rossi sat in the back of the ambulance, only focusing on some parts of the conversation the paramedics were having.

"…fever is getting dangerously high…another degrees… do something…"

Rossi was sitting next to Reid, trying to figure out what to do for him. It had been a long time since he'd been given a ticket for an ambulance ride while someone's life was hanging in the balance. He looked again at Reid, and the paramedics working frantically over him… they did have a good point. Reid was extremely pale, except for his crimson-tinged cheeks.

"…much blood can this poor guy have… soaking through the bandage… have to change it…"

Blood. Rossi had seen agents in danger before, but the amount of blood pouring out off Reid's leg would unerve even the most seasoned Agent. Even when Reid had been shot in that leg, there hadn't been as much blood. It was making Rossi panic even more.

"…rash is getting redder… more prominent…"

That was a bad sign. A very bad sign. Reid was getting worse, not better.

"…how much longer he can hold out…"

Reid had cheated death too many times, Rossi thought, and only just since Rossi had been on the team. Was this the one time that Reid wouldn't be able to escape the inevitable?

"… definitely will be a priority…"

Help… that was the one thing he needed. The one thing they all needed, but Reid first and foremost. Without realising what he was doing, Rossi accidentally gripped Reid's arm too tightly almost cutting of the young Agent's circulation. Rossi felt soft, gloved hands pulling him back and a female voice call,

"…Agent… please we're doing what we can… remain calm…"

* * *

_Reid sat alone at the round table, absolutely perplexed. How did he get here? Why was he here? Why was he alone?_

"_Alone? What am I? Invisible?" an unfamiliar female voice asked. Reid turned to see a young woman stretched out on the couch. She was very young, a pretty woman, looking only slightly younger than Reid. She had wavy brown hair that just about reached her chin, big brown eyes looking imploringly at Reid and her long lanky frame barely even fit on the couch. She looked vaguely familiar, but Reid couldn't place her face._

"_Don't remember me, huh?" she asked, a little disappointed. Reid shook his head, and the young woman clicked her fingers._

_Once her flowing, white, angelic dress had changed into a ripped, blood-stained indigo cocktail dress with shopping tags still attached, Reid knew who he was looking at._

"…_Georgia? Georgia Everett?" he replied eventually._

_She smiled, "I would be surprised you remembered my name but you do have an eidetic memory I guess."_

_Reid chuckled at that remark, but his ease vanished when he remembered his thoughts prior to Georgia appearing, "Err, Miss Everett -"_

"_Georgia." she corrected promptly._

"_- why exactly am I in the conference room at the BAU?"_

_Georgia's smile faded, "You don't know?"_

"_Don't know what?" Reid asked in response._

_Georgia hesitated before asking, "What's the last thing you can remember?"_

_Reid frowned. What a strange question, he thought. But he obeyed, trying to recall his most recent memories. He remembered… darkness. The high feeling he knew as dilaudid. Darcey looking at him sadly. Foyet - Foyet? Foyet looking at him. Malevolently. Pain. Blood. Choices. More darkness. Rossi… wait - Rossi? For some reason Reid was overcome by images of Rossi's aging face, filled with confusion, panic and fear. His voice attempting to remain calm but with a distinct panicked edge to it. And wait… why was Reid remembering hearing Gideon's voice? He must have delusional at that stage. Than everything blended together - bright lights, more pain and snippets of conversations. Than, here he was. There was only one logical explanation._

"_I'm dead?" Reid asked quietly. It was barely more than a whisper but Georgia caught it._

"_Not quite," Georgia explained, "Think more along the lines of yourself as being in some sort of limbo."_

"_So does that make you my guardian angel?" Reid asked sarcastically. Georgia giggled._

"_Not me," she replied, "I'm your receptionist… or secretary maybe. Perhaps that's a better word for it. I was the one sent to get you."_

"_Get me?" Reid inquired._

"_Yes, get you. Collect you, bring you to your final destination, all that jazz."_

"_No offense," Reid began sheepishly, "but why you?"_

"_I volunteered. They wanted someone not very threatening, you could easily talk to and who wouldn't freak you out upon seeing them."_

"_Why would I freak out?" Reid asked hoping for his voice to remain neutral._

_However, Georgia smiled knowingly. "Just follow me and don't stray too far. We have to go through the Bullpen to get to where we need to be, and a lot of people want to see you."_

"_A… a lot of people?" Reid choked out. He had no idea who in their right mind would want to see him._

_Georgia grinned, "Most of them are here to thank you personally, actually. Quite pleased to finally meet one of the BAU… well, the profilers. And a lot of them bet that it'd be you, Dr. Reid."_

_Reid couldn't help but chuckle. With his track record, he couldn't exactly blame them._

"_Don't be intimidated. One or two may not have very nice comments-"_

_Georgia was interrupted by another unexpected entrance, "Jeez Georgia, don't hog up the doctor."_

_Two new figures stood at the door. Both of whom, Reid had never seen alive._

* * *

Burning buildings were something Aaron Hotchner had experienced quite a lot in the past.

They had saved some and they had lost some. They had saved Rebecca Bryant from the second burning home she'd been trapped in - before they'd been unable to save her from Frank's hands. That burning house in Shiloh, Virginia was also one of the many times they had almost lost Reid - when Garner had tried to take Reid and the rest of the BAU present out with him as he blew himself up.

But even after all the years he'd been in this area of expertise, burning buildings would always remind him of Charlotte Cutler and Evan Abby. How he had been unable to help either of them as they died right in front of his eyes.

Darcey Miles had done wrong. She'd played them all for fools, and she was George Foyet's accomplice. Hotch, during the time the medic had been examining him, had convinced himself that it was for the best to leave her die. Was it not aiding her in a way, if she didn't have much to live for? What did she have to look forward to if she recovered? A nice stint in a women's prison? None the less, Hotch's conscience had been continuously eating away at him and guilty be damned, he couldn't leave a young woman die just because both he and his team felt betrayed by her. But mostly, he felt like he was doing this for Devlin.

Hotch nervously entered the basement and felt the smoke almost instantly enter his lungs. The basement was not actually as full of flames as Hotch had imagined - possibly from the lack of flammable objects. But the smoke was suffocating, and Hotch knew he had very limited time.

He rushed down the stairs, praying none would snap under the added pressure of his weight. Once he reached the bottom, he stepped over the two bodied and he rushed to the young officer who was surrounded by a large pool of her own blood. He knelt down next to her and asked, in as gentle a tone as he could manage, the question he prayed he would get some form of an answer to,

"Officer Miles? Where's my son? Where's Jack?"

He was blessed with a moment of lucidity as their eyes met for a fraction of a second and, her eyes drooping closed, she responded,

"Safe."

She let her eyes close, having lost the energy to stay awake any longer. Hotch panicked, he knew she was running out of time. His humanity and compassionate side was returning. Traitor or no, she needed help. He lifted her up into his strong hands as if he were lifting a child up from its crib. She was much lighter than Devlin, mercifully, and made the journey somewhat easier.

Hotch paused and stared at the two bodies as he passed. It was finally done. George Foyet was literally going to burn in hell for what he'd done to others. And Aaron Hotchner wasn't - not any time soon at least.

He carried the young woman awkwardly, coughing as he inhaled the thick smoke into his lungs. This time the journey felt even longer, with the smoke and heat. The fact that the young officer weighed half of what Detective Devlin had not making the process too much better.

When he finally reached the top of the staircase and exited the basement, he felt immensely relieved as the oxygen filled his lungs. He stumbled in the direction of the first paramedic he could see and called loudly, clearly and calmly given the circumstances, "Gurney please!"

The medic is question rushed to the closest ambulance in question and returning pushing a gurney ahead of him. Hotch ran halfway to meet him, and haphazardly dropped the limp figure on the gurney before simply stating, "She's been shot."

The paramedic nodded before taking out his pager as he pushed the gurney in the opposite direction.

Hotch watched the two figures become smaller, wondering if this was how all the UnSubs felt once they had dumped the bodies of their victims.

And for some bizarre reason, it was in that mindset, that he had a brainwave.

_

* * *

_

The two new figures, like Georgia, were clad in white. And both, like Georgia, had been killed by Foyet.

_The girl on the left, Reid had only seen photos of - the majority of which was of her corpse. She had dark, curly hair which was pulled up off of her face and her ivory dress was flowed past her knees. Although she wore shoes with a slight heel, she was no where near as tall as her companion, who, like Reid was wearing converse. The only difference being that hers were pure snow white rather than grey. Her long brunette hair was neatly held in place by a bow hair band, and her likewise her white dress had a large bow on the back._

_Last time Reid had seen this girl, she was a lifeless corpse wearing a bikini floating in a pool - where the water had a red tinge from her blood._

_Georgia nodded at the two new arrivals, "You ready to take him from here?"_

_The curly haired girl replied, "I think we'll be able to hold back the hoards but I must warn you, Ava here's heard that another spirit in limbo maybe joining us momentarily."_

_The taller girl nodded knowingly. Georgia turned back to Reid and pointed to each of the girls in turn. First to the curly haired girl, than to the taller, slightly older girl. "Cara Casey, Ava Quinn - though I'm sure you already knew that! They'll guide you to your next destination - where you really need to be."_

_Both girls beamed at him, as if they couldn't have been given a better job in the world. One of them took either arm and led the young doctor out of the conference room. Reid threw one last glance over his shoulder at Georgia, who smiled sadly at him before promptly vanishing._

_Reid finally asked the question again, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer this time,_

"_Am I… dead? Or alive?"_

"_What do you think?" Cara the curly haired girl asked in response._

"_Well so far, I've seen three murder victims wearing white clothes and -"_

"_Are your clothes white?" the taller girl, Ava asked._

_For the first time, Reid examined himself and two things stuck him. The first, he wasn't wearing white like the three victims. On the contrary, everything from his tie and waistcoat to his earlier noted Converse were in various shades of grey. The second thing was something he surprised not to have noticed earlier. He was standing on his own two feet for the first time since he'd been shot all those weeks ago._

_This to Reid was further proof he was not as alive as he'd like to be. "But my leg, it's-"_

"_Georgia already told you you're sort of in limbo right?" Cara asked. Reid nodded mutely._

"_We know facts and statistics mean a lot to you, but none the less you should surely know that life isn't black and white. You aren't truly dead, nor are you truly alive. You are quite literally, in a grey area." Ava grinned._

"_Enough chat for now," Cara declared, "We have to get you to where you have to-"_

_The two girls led Reid out of the conference room only to pause just in front of the bullpen, with looks of astonishment that corresponded with Reid's. In the bullpen, were dozens of people. It was more crowded than Reid had ever seen it in life, but seemed to have stretched in order to accommodate its occupants. Most of them were wearing white, only a handful were in black. Yet Reid could recognise several faces._

_Most of those in white were victims from cases past, from Foyet's most recent victims to the several families Karl Arnold, the Fox had preyed on. But to Reid, some faces stuck out more than others. One belonged to the former wife of his boss - Haley Hotchner. She smiled sadly, but said nothing. Reid wasn't surprised, they had barely exchanged words with one another when they had both been alive. Other than Reid questioning what was so adorable about her bald and wrinkly son over four years ago, not far from where they were standing._

_Another face shocked Reid completely, as the white clad figure stepped away from the black clothed figure he was in the shadow of. The man came forward and embraced Reid. That was the last thing that Reid would have expected from Tobias Hankel. Almost as if he could read the young genius's mind, the formally trouble man simply stated,_

"_I'm free now. I'm finally me again. You freed me."_

"_I killed you." Reid responded ashamedly, in a low voice so the others would not hear._

_Tobias looked at the young doctor with absolutely no resentment in his eyes and slowly repeated, "You freed me." He than retreated back to the crowd once again._

_Reid's eyes glazed over the rest of the crowd. Particularly those in black. Charles Hankel was there, scowling at his son. Phillip Dowd, the Long Distance Serial Killer Reid had shot was there, and he didn't seem as accepting as Tobias regarding his demise at Reid's hands. Other UnSubs stood there, a man whose voice was the only thing that made sure he had been an UnSub. Reid didn't recognise the man, but recognised one of the people surrounding him. Along with a woman in her thirties, several young children there was a girl in her late teens whom Reid knew to be Rebecca Bryant, Randall Garner's daughter they'd had to participate in a 'quest' to save. Randall stood in the centre of the white-clad figures, unblemished and happier in the after life than he had ever been in life, Reid was sure._

"_Doctor Reid, come on, we have to go." Cara urged, but Reid had spotted two new figures enter through the elevators. One stepped towards Reid without a moment's hesitation. Reid recognised the young man - Adam Jackson. Adam, like Reid, was decked in grey clothing._

"_I'm glad you never gave up on me," he said, "I don't know if I'll ever be the same but…"_

_Reid nodded and Adam, seeming satisfied with himself, stepped away from him. Reid was glad to see Adam acting someway himself again - no matter where they were. The figure that had arrived with Adam remained within the elevator, as if he or she was unsure whether they belonged there or not. Reid turned to the two young girls and asked lowly, "Why are all these people here?"_

_Cara and Ava looked at each other, surprised and a little offended by the question._

"_We," Ava stressed, "are all people who have influenced you or impacted your life in some way, and are no longer among what is classified as 'the living'. For instance, Randall Garner over there, taught you that you can't always talk everyone down from the ledge when they're ready to jump."_

"_I though Randall Garner blew himself up and pretty much set Dr. Reid on fire?" Cara argued. Ava closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration._

"_It's an expression, Cara."_

"_Adam Jackson," Cara continued as if she handed interrupted, "Was another lesson that you can't save everyone. And yet you persevere. You continue to visit him, hoping he'll improve."_

"_Tobias," Ava began, not missing Reid's discomfort, "taught you that you are stronger than you give yourself credit for. Most people saw you as the weakest member of the team and that forced them to re-evaluate that. Not a lot of people could go back to work after what you'd been through."_

"_And us, the… victims." Cara was clearly uncomfortable referring to herself as a victim, "We're here because we haunt your thoughts, your dreams - which we all apologise for by the way… but we just don't want to be forgotten. No one wants to be a cold case."_

"_We're the ones you couldn't save," Ava added, "But you guys still put all your time and effort into ensuring justice."_

_Reid allowed himself to process this, before asking sceptically, "Phillip Dowd?"_

"_Well he gave you better aim," Cara grinned._

_Dowd made a very rude gesture in their general direction. Cara and Ava turned from the bullpen and Cara called over her shoulder, "The Boss is going to hear about that, don't forget you're here on probation!"_

_As they walked away from the bullpen, Reid asked, "The Boss?"_

"_We're on our way there," Ava answered, "In fact we should be -"_

_A grey figure stood out in their path, and the three were left speechless._

"…_Spencer."_

* * *

He walked calmly to the nearest SUV, thanked whatever God was on duty that the keys were in the ignition, started the engine and pulled out his cell phone, praying it would still work.

It didn't.

He slammed his fist against the steering wheel. Taking a deep breath, he rolled down his window.

"Excuse me!" he called to the EMT that was rushing past. "I need a cell phone, ASAP!"

"Sir, I'm sorry, I-" the medic looked anxious to get away, he looked almost scared.

"My son is ...missing." Hotch forced himself to say the word. "The only person who knows where he is, is currently unconscious on a gurney with three GSW's and what looks like second if not third degree burns. So she's not really up for giving _helpful_ details of where he actually is. My only chance of finding him, is by making a phone call, and to do that:_ I. Need. A. Cell. Phone!"_

The medic rooted around in his pocket before handing it over with shaking hands.

"Keep it. I hope you find your little boy." he said before hurrying away from Hotch.

Hotch glanced in the mirror. He look...broken. terrifying. Nothing like the composed, stoic Unit Chief he had been before this case. His face was slightly red and shiny - burns from the fire, he realised. His shirt was covered in blood and ash. He chuckled darkly, no wonder the EMT was so desperate to get away. He looked like an UnSub. If he hadn't have gone back for her, would he have been an UnSub, he wondered, or was he more of an UnSub now after saving her, leaving her alive to face the consequences of everything. It didn't matter, she knew where Jack was, alive she had a use, dead and Jack was gone. That mattered more to him than being an UnSub.

He dialed a number that had become familiar to him.

"Orlando PD. Can I help you?"

""This is Agent Hotchner, FBI. I need to know where Officer Darcey Miles lives."

"I'm sorry Sir, but I can't give you that information, it's against procedure."

"There's a boy missing and I need to know where Darcey Miles lives." Hotch repeated calmly.

"I understand your situation sir, but giving information about our officers is against procedure-"

"What part of there's a boy missing and I need to know where Darcey Miles lives, didn't properly convey that I don't give a damn about procedure right now."

"I'll need to clear it with my superior."

"Then go clear it with your superior."

Hotch heard muttering at the other end of the phone.

"Have you got paper?"

"I have a GPS."

"That works too. Ok, ready? Head south on International Drive toward Sea Harbor Drive. Turn left at Central Florida Parkway. Here's where it gets technical. Turn right at FL-600 W/US-17 S/US-441 S/US-92 W/S Orange Blossom Trail. Then take the 2nd right onto Old Harbor Road, got it so far? Take the 2nd left to stay on Old Harbor Road. She's apartment number thirteen. Good Luck."

He muttered "thanks", before hanging up. He slammed his foot down, pulled a U turn and sped off.

_

* * *

_

One more turn... nearly there...Hold on Buddy, Daddy's coming.

Seeing the the gate, it took all his self-control not to drive faster, reminding himself innocent people could be hurt if he did.

He screeched to a stop outside Number thirteen, which was conveniently on the ground floor. Pulling out his gun, he kicked open the door, and cleared the hallway. He could hear voices.

_Please Jack, please be here._

"No. No, you can't. Stop! Please don't go away! Please? No one's ever stuck with me for so long before! And if you leave, if you leave... I just, I remember things better with you! I do! Look! P. Sherman, forty-two... forty-two... I remember it, I do! It's there, I know it is, because when I look at you, I can feel it. And-and I look at you, and I... I'm home! Please. I don't want that to go away. I don't want to forget. "

He would never forget the sight before him.

Packets of Reeses cups, pop tarts, chips, surrounded the small boy standing in front of the TV mouthing the words.

"Jack?" Hotch whispered.

"Daddy!"

"Jack!" he sighed in relief. He was safe. Hotch leaned down to pick up the young boy who had run headlong towards his father,

"You came!" Jack squealed. "She said you would!"

"Who did buddy?"

"Da-see." Jack said, looking at Hotch as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Thinking about it, for Jack - who was innocent to the events of the last few days - it probably was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Has Darcey been looking after you, then buddy?" he asked trying to keep his voice neutral.

Jack nodded frantically. "She makes really good mac and cheese. _And_ she's got cartoons." He grinned. "Come watch Finding Nemo, daddy." he said taking his father's hand, "They still haven't found him." Jack said seriously.

"_No time to waste. My house, finding Nemo when I left. Pop tarts. I think the supply is running low. I think I'll get chocolate next time, the strawberry is too sticky. My poor carpet."_

It all made sense now. Jack was curled up at his side, arm flung over Hotch's waist hand clinging to the Kevlar, as if afraid to let go in case his dad disappeared. "I'm glad your here Daddy. Da-see doesn't tuck me in at night as well as you do."

There was a lot Hotch had to explain to the small boy. Mummy wasn't coming home, Ms. Jareau wasn't around anymore and daddy's friends were all going to be sad and not very smiley for a while, all for their own reasons. Some things Jack didn't need to know. But Hotch made sure to whisper one very important thing.

"I love you, Jack. I've really missed you."

Jack squeezed Hotch tightly in response. "Dory was right." Jack said, "she might be silly and forgetful, but she was right." Hotch waited for him to elaborate but he remained silent.

"Your right, Jack, she was." Hotch whispered, quickly pressing a kiss to Jack's head, before ruffling his hair, smiling sadly. " 'I look at you and I'm home' "

_

* * *

_

Satisfying? Sappy? Let us know! Isn't it nice to have a bittersweet ending?

_Interesting fact, the kid who was Nemo in 'Finding Nemo'? He was actually in an episode of Criminal Minds! Season 3._

_And don't forget... reviews are love._


	27. The Hospital Reunion

_**Summary: **It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:** Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world. _

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart': **__The death toll stands at; JJ, Haley, Officer Cameron Garvey, SWAT Officer Charlie Sierra and the big bad Boston Reaper, George Foyet. The team have been hurt in so many ways, as the doctors will remind you in this chapter. But thankfully, Hotch has found Jack. A least someone is safe in our hands._

_**Authors' Note: **__Yes we are terrible. Our first update of the year 2011. We know these words don't mean a lot to you - CAO, Pres, work experience - but trust us, things are only going to get worse in the coming weeks. Thanks to last chapter's reviewers: I. Am. Cheese. And. Cheese. Is. Me__, __Nymphadora-CullenBAU__, __lolyncut__, __nexis44__ and __imajazzbandnerd__ . No Reid or Hotch in this chapter, we thought Hotch had suffered enough at our hands and is spending some quality time with his son. As for Reid… well hopefully you won't have to wait two months to find out, but we can't promise anything. Hope you guys enjoy the latest addition in any case,_

_X Cara and Ava._

_

* * *

_

_**Chapter Twenty Six - The (Hospital) Reunion**_

_"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill_

"No. Na-ah. I'm not going, I don't need to go."

'_Still as stubborn as ever,' _Gideon found himself thinking as he tried to convince Morgan he needed to be seen by a doctor.

"Derek. You're clearly exhausted, dehydrated, not to mention the risk of infection to your other injuries. You need help."

"There are people who need more help than I do," Morgan said softly, looking in Emily's general direction.

Gideon sighed. He couldn't even imagine what Morgan and Prentiss had endured during the time they had been held captive together. At least in… Georgia, they'd had an inkling of what Reid had been through due to the camera feed they'd received. It felt like they were working blindly because neither Morgan or Prentiss was giving them much information about what had been done to them. Both of them being examined would give the profilers a better idea of what had happened, and they needed to be examined if they wanted to recover in any form.

Then Gideon thought of the perfect way to convince Morgan to be seen to. He uttered one simple word, "Georgia."

Morgan's head snapped up at the mention of the word. There had only been one case in Georgia that had been significant to the team, "What about it?"

"What if Reid had refused medical attention the way you are now?" Gideon asked pointedly. Morgan's face flushed.

"Well obviously I'd have gotten his skinny butt into the closest possible ambulance. But that was different. I can assure you what Emily and I went through was different to that. Reid had actually died, for one. You and my baby girl saw him die with your own eyes. He did need help."

"But if we hadn't seen any of that," Gideon countered, "If there hadn't been a camera feed - if we hadn't known anything of what Reid had gone through. He was coherent. He was conscious and lucid. How could we have known he had died and been resuscitated? He could have easily lied. And even with all the things we'd seen there were still things we didn't know about. Things he did lie about."

Knowing where Gideon was going with this, Morgan cut in again.

"Gideon, I can assure you. Nothing like _that_ happened."

"Morgan, profilers are the best people in the world at hiding things. But I know that something happened to you and Emily that you don't want to talk about. Remember what happened the last time a team member hid something from the rest of the team -"

"I doubt you do because you pretended otherwise and left when things were at their worst." Morgan snapped.

Gideon stopped, unsure of how to respond to that. "I understand you're angry about that -"

"You don't understand anything about the team anymore! You left the team right when things were at their worst! Hotch was punished for your mistake by suspension, Prentiss… well, the less said about that the better, and you just couldn't come back. You came back after six agents died at your hands, but you let Frank get to you. I understand you needed a little time Gideon, but the way you left, only explaining yourself to one person - it just wasn't right. We deserve better that. Hell, Reid deserved better than that letter you left for him. The poor kid's dad left him before, what's he going to think is the common denominator?"

Morgan's outburst was over as quickly as it started, and Gideon stood there silently for a moment to see if Morgan had anything else to add.

"Finished?" He asked.

"Yeah." Morgan replied.

"You all have the right to be angry with me. I don't deny that. But you can't judge me, when you don't know what I'd been going through. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. And I certainly would never have wished it on Hotch."

There was a moment of silence as they both processed this. Neither of them could imagine how Hotch could get through this, but Morgan was confident he would. For the sake of his son.

"Nothing can ever go back to the way it was can it?" Morgan asked softly.

"If you just get checked out Derek, that's one step back to normality. Please."

Morgan leaned against the back of the ambulance, sighed, and finally nodded. He stood up straight to clamber into the back of the van. Satisfied, Gideon began to walk off in the opposite direction until he heard the younger man call his name. Believing his mind to be playing tricks on him, he turned back expecting to see Morgan shutting the doors of the ambulance. Instead, he found Morgan leaning out the ambulance doors, and stranger still, smiling at the former profiler.

"Gideon? Room for one more man. If you want to, that is."

'_Seems like he knows everything will be easier if he just accepts the fact that Elle and I are back here to help them recover.' _Gideon thought as he walked forward to clamber into the ambulance.

"Derek," he began, "I'd be honored. Let's get you seen to."

* * *

"Excuse me ladies, but we're going to have to get going" the driver called from the front seat.

"Do I _have_ to go to the hospital?" Emily asked glancing up at Elle.

"I - of course - Duh! Emily you've...been down there for I don't know how long," Elle tactfully changed her point at the last minute. "At the very least you're in shock." She said with a significant glance in Emily's direction.

Emily didn't reply, instead clambering into the back of the ambulance. She glanced back. "Come on. We haven't got all day. Apparently." She glared at the impatient driver.

"Actually Miss, it'd probably be easier if you hopped in the front." Alex said putting out his arm to stop Elle joining Emily.

"Not. Going. To. Happen." Elle said pausing briefly, before slipping under his arm. "No matter how good you are at the puppy dog eyes!" she called.

"I think Reid got that trademarked." Emily chuckled, staring at her hands. Elle smiled, moving around trying to get comfortable on the metal bench. "Thanks for staying with me." She mumbled so quietly Elle almost missed it. Almost.

Elle nodded in response. "I'm here whenever you need me. _Anytime."_ She glanced at the empty passenger seat, and leaned forward conspicuously. "Beside's it saved me from having to sit next to Mr. Grumpy." She patted Emily's knee and sat back, ready for the months ahead.

* * *

Rossi was in a daze by the time the ambulance had arrived at the hospital. The young man and woman were still yelling medical terms at one another. Rossi wouldn't have been able to translate the medical garble on a good day. They were quick to unload Reid from the ambulance as soon as they arrived and Rossi could barely keep up with the gurney but could hear the alternating voices of the two medics.

"…twenty-eight year old male, suffering from Acute Hemolytic Transfusion Reaction. We've already set up an IV line and have got him on oxygen." The female EMT called as she pushed the gurney further away from Rossi.

"He also has a serious leg injury and has lost quite a volume of blood. Could be a case of hypovolemic shock…"

Maybe if he was younger, more agile, Rossi wouldn't have allowed Reid to get as far away from him as he did. But it happened. Reid went through yet another large set of doors and as Rossi prepared to push through them, he was stopped by a big, burly nurse.

"Excuse me sir, you're not authorized to go back there." Rossi paused, fumbled through his pocket and flashed his badge.

The nurse thoroughly examined the badge and sighed, "I'm sorry Agent Rossi, but rules are rules. That patient-"

"Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Reid," Rossi supplied, not allowing the woman to hide behind language like the team often did.

"… Agent Reid is critical. He needs to be worked on and to be quite honest Agent Rossi, you look like you do as well."

Rossi was caught quite off guard. "Excuse me?"

The nurse stiffened. "You heard me."

Rossi looked longingly at the door preventing him from staying with Reid, and groaned. If he was a younger man, he would have taken his chance by now. He would have rushed through the doors before the nurse could stop him, he would have been there for Reid.

But he wasn't the young man he used to be. More than anyone could imagine. In his early days at the BAU, you worked on your own. They had no use for teams in those days. In some ways it had been a disadvantage, working alone. Working in a team, someone else always had something to bring to the table. Working alone, they didn't have that option unless they consulted with someone. There was also the advantage of sharing the workload, which was always time saving.

But there were disadvantages to the team side of things as well, like the situation he now found himself in. Back in the day if someone had been injured, of course you may have concerns, but you didn't know the person on such a personal level the way this team did. You didn't wait in the hospital, praying that they'd make it to the next day. He had been indifferent. It had been easier.

Not caring had made things so much simpler. All you had to do, was care about two things - the job and your own well being. And until Rossi was going to be given an update, rather than hurl abuse at the hospital staff, he decided he better get checked out in the meantime.

And than harass them after he'd been given the all clear, and still hadn't got an update. Some habits were hard to break.

* * *

The doors slammed open as a gurney was wheeled through. Emily Prentiss, true to form, was half sitting up, protesting. Elle followed along beside her. Alex paused to hand over his notes. Giving Emily a chance to voice her opinion. "I'm fine! I don't need to be here, I can -"

"Em, hush." Elle said hopping up to sit on the end of the trolley. "You're here now so you might as well get checked out." she smirked at the disapproving looks the passing nurses gave her.

"We all set to go?" Alex asked, shaking his head at Elle and her swinging legs.

"Take it away Doc!"

"I'm not a Doctor…."

"Works better than 'take it away medic!" She paused, "Actually that doesn't sound half bad."

"And you didn't sustain any head injures?"

"Nope…Hey!"

They were pushed through a set of double-doors, where they were met by a group of doctors.

"What have we got?"

"Dislocated shoulder, multiple cuts to the chest, dehydration, slightly light headed, but that could be due to hunger or other reasons, specified here and here. There's minor injures, noted here." Alex said as he looked down at the chart.

"Ok, everyone ready to move her?"

"Um, guys….err…I mean, doctors. I can stand. I can get on to the bed by myself."

"Emily these lovely men are offering to lift you into….yeah on second thoughts you move yourself. You'll be fine."

Before anyone could protest Emily immediately sprang to her feet, before half collapsing and relying on Elle to catch her before she hit the floor.

She immediately began apologising to the medic and the doctors surrounding her bedside as she was helped back into her bed.

"Agent…" one of the doctors began, before realising they hadn't gotten Elle's name.

"Greenaway." Elle supplied, in spite of the fact that she knew she wasn't an agent anymore.

"Agent Greenaway. We're about to examine Agent Prentiss, so we're going to have to ask you to leave."

Emily looked at Elle in a panicked state, she obviously had not wanted to be alone in a room full of men.

"I think I'd rather stay." Elle argued.

"I'm sorry Agent Greenaway, but it's standard procedure."

"But this isn't a damn standard situation!"

"And why not?" he asked, trying extract further information from Elle.

Elle quickly glanced over at Emily, and they made eye contact. Emily shot her a ferocious look - she remembered giving Reid a similar one in the past. When she had told Benjamin Cyrus from the compound in Colorado she was the FBI Agent and he had dragged her away by her hair. The intention was clear. 'Say anything, and I will have no problem killing you'.

Elle cleared her throat, "Because Agent Prentiss was… she was…"

One look at Emily's petrified face, and she knew she couldn't do it.

"She was extremely brave. And still is…"

The doctor wasn't swayed, as he asked wearily, "Anything else we need to know, Agent Greenaway?"

"She's …. umm….yeah, she's pretty awesome. Wow 10 minutes with Garcia and I come out with awesome."

The doctor stared blankly at Elle before calling out, "Nurse?"

An older woman walked through the set of double doors. "Yes Doctor Mako?"

"Please escort Agent Greenaway out of here, and into the waiting room."

"Certainly Doctor. Agent, if you'd like to come this way please? I'll update you, as soon as there is anything new." She said taking Elle by the elbow.

Elle glanced back at a terrified Emily. "I'd rather stay actually. But thanks anyway." She tried to channel Morgan's flirting skills and Hotch's 'I'm the boss with two guns - don't mess with me' attitude. She realised she was failing - miserably.

"I've been with her since she was found. You need me." Elle smiled satisfied, with her airtight argument.

Alex stepped forward. "Agent, if you'd like to step over here a moment, there's some … things I need to have… clarified."

_Shit._

Elle followed Alex outside the set of double doors, and waited for him to speak first.

"So I'm going to be honest with you…"

A large amount of expletives ran though Elle's mind before Alex continued speaking.

"Melissa jotted down her own diagnosis, but her writing is sloppy at the best of times and when she's in a rush it's damn near illegible -"

"And why do you need me?" Elle asked nervously, but she was almost sure she knew what was coming.

"There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to come right out and say it - do you think Agent Prentiss was the victim of a sexual assault?"

And there it was, Elle honestly didn't know which path to take. Lie, truth, lie? Protect Emily by lying and keeping her secret and her trust, or tell the truth so things could be dealt with properly?

When Elle answered, her response surprised her.

"No," she said without thinking, "I assure you, there's no reason to use the rape kit. Nothing happened. I used to work in the Sex Crimes Unit. I know."

"Okay, thanks Agent Greenaway." Alex turned back to walked through the double doors, looking glad to get away from Elle as quickly as possible as the nurse walked back out.

"I've been asked to escort you to the family waiting room." Elle tried to argue, but as the woman began leading her by the arm, she knew it was all in vain. Before she was carted off by the woman, Elle peeped through the small window on the door of the hospital room. She saw Alex conferring with the doctors, and Emily sitting nervously. She managed to catch Emily's eye and smile reassuringly at her. Emily visibly relaxed and sank further into her pillows in relief. Her secret was safe. The nurse decided enough was enough and dragged Elle by the arm away from the door. But she couldn't stop her from opening the door a fraction and calling through the gap, "Oh by the way Doctor Mako, I'm not an Agent. I quit almost three years ago. So ha!"

She turned to the nurse, "Okay, I'm ready now."

The woman forced Elle into a small, cramped room with a small table in the centre, littered with magazines and newspapers from as far back as ten years ago. There was only one other occupant in the room.

Gideon patted the chair next to him and Elle obliged. She sat down next to him and for a few moments they sat in silence.

"You came in with Morgan?" Elle asked quietly.

"Yes," Gideon replied, "They made sure I got left behind when they realised I was uninjured. But at least I know he's in good hands. How's Prentiss?"

"In true profiler style, a lot worse than she's letting on." Elle said sadly.

"The exact same thing with Morgan. He was denying that he even needed to be in the hospital."

"As with Emily. She almost down right refused."

There was a silence as they worried for their former team mates. Once again, it was broken by Elle,

"Well it looks like the team has retained its bad luck, not even us leaving could change that. If anything, it's gotten worse."

Gideon chuckled, then abruptly stopped and sighed, "There is certainly no argument against that."

Sensing where Gideon's thoughts had gone, Elle asked Gideon without looking directly at him, "Did you know she had a son?"

They both knew she wasn't referring to Haley or her untimely demise.

Gideon sat forward more, interlocking his fingers, "You don't think I kept tabs on the rest of them as well?"

"I guess it's harder to step away from this job than we both originally thought."

"You know what they say - it takes one to know one. Look how quickly we came crawling back to the team when we heard the team was in trouble."

"That I don't understand - they've been in trouble like this before."

"Not to this degree. You felt it too when you agreed to come here. Our instincts took over and we automatically knew something was seriously wrong."

"I just wished it wasn't," Elle hiccupped, trying to stop tears falling, "I'd give anything just to be back in my apartment and that this night had never happened. Obviously not for our sakes, but for the team's - for Morgan, Reid, Emily and Garcia. For Hotch and Jack. For Henry… and for JJ."

Gideon shook his head, "Elle if only if it were that simple."

They heard a clicking noise echoing in the hallway outside, and they sat up straighter, half expecting to see a doctor to update them on things.

It wasn't a doctor.

"This is totally and completely unacceptable," Garcia announced storming into the waiting room. She fixed her hair before noticing who was in the small room.

"No freaking way. You have to be kidding me. _You're_ here?" she glared at the two offending ex-agents. "Out of a team of six people I get greeted, not by them, but by the runaways. _No fair!_" she plopped down on to the chair furthest from her former colleagues.

"This just gets better and better. First I almost get kicked off the plane for talking to my stud muffin, then the woman behind me turns out to be a nervous flier and wants to get off at six thousand feet and literally puked at my offer of helping her with that wish. FYI the air hostesses were not friendly and helpful like the commercials say they are, and for that I am totally filing a complaint. And then, to top it all off, I don't even get greeted by a nice comfy FBI issued SUV. No. Instead I have to get a taxi that reeked of B.O and I don't wanna know what else, and a creepy driver. I wouldn't be surprised if I end up looking into him as an UnSub in the future. I'm book marking him. Creepy perv." she shuddered dramatically.

"And now I'm here. With you two. Yay." She wriggled in the uncomfortable seat, before curling her knees up to her chest. "And no one brought me coffee!" she mumbled.

Elle moved over to the ball of colour that was Penelope Garcia. "Pen-"

"Don't you 'Pen' me Elle Greenaway. I'm mad at you."

"I'm - we're here to help. That's gotta count for something, right?"

"Garcia. If the others could be here, they would. You know they would." Gideon reasoned.

"Well why aren't they here? Where are my babies?"

"David has been taken in for an examination. They think he might have a concussion. He took quite a fall. Add that to the possible broken ribs, there was no way he could evade the doctors for long." Gideon said with a slightly smug smile.

Elle shook her head chuckling, "Still bitter about the ambulance set up?" Ignoring the disgruntled look from the older profiler and the questioning look from Garcia she hurried on quickly, simply stating "Emily's being taken care of."

"What do you mean 'taken care of''? That makes her sound like she's . . .dead or something. Haha which is crazy, right? She's not dead. she can't be."

"_She's_ not - ." Gideon said darkly. Garcia was oblivious to what her former colleague was implying.

Elle glared at him, before continuing breezily "Cuts, bruises. . . scars. But she'll be fine. They say scars make a man, Emily's gonna be proof that it works for women too!" she smiled, a little sadly.

Garcia, sensing something was not right, curled up tighter into her little ball and said petulantly, "Where's Morgan? Where's my Chocolate Adonis? I need to see him." She got to her feet as if in daze, " Yeah, I need to see Derek."

"Penelope you can't - "

"Why not. I want to see him. I need to see him. No one got me coffee, so I need to see him. He's the next best thing."

"You can't see him because he's -"

"He's not dead. I made him promise to not die. Or get blown up. _Oh!_ So _that's_ why the lady puked. She thought that when I was talking of bombs there was a bomb in the plane. Aw. I feel a little bad about offering to help her off the plane now. I'll find her address and send her a fruit basket."

"Penelope! He's not dead. He's being examined. Jason finally convinced him." Elle said with a smile. She forgot how crazy Penelope Garcia could be.

"I like you a tiny bit now. But FYI you're still below Strauss on the PG Likey Scale."

There was a pause as Garcia began to think and panic again. "Where's everyone else? Where's JJ? He took her first and I haven't heard…"

At the mention of the young mother, Gideon and Elle looked at each other uneasily. Garcia had experienced loss before. She knew the 'look'.

"No." she said simply.

Elle went forward to comfort the broken technical analyst, "Garcia."

"No! Don't! This can't be true! She can't be dead, she can't! Sh-sh-she has Henry! She has a son! And Will? Has anyone told Will? He w-w-won't be able to deal with this, I mean, he came from New Orleans, he's been through so much already. He's already lost his dad. That means me and Reid w-w-will have to resort to god-parental duties and god-parenthood beyond spoiling the little man-"

She stopped dead, as she seemed to remember something else. "Reid. You haven't mentioned my three-legged kitten. Where's Reid?"

"He's alive." Gideon stated simply.

"Alive? ALIVE? That's the best you can do? Alive?"

"Garcia, calm down-" Elle interjected.

"Calm down, CALM DOWN? How can I? I've just learned that one of my best friends has died, another is 'being examined', Emily Princess is being 'taken care of' and the resident bad luck magnet is just 'alive'! I think I'm entitled to being a little stressed, considering I get stuck with the two cast-offs who left as soon as things were too much to handle-"

"_Stop. _Please. Just shut up." Gideon snapped, rising to his feet. Both Elle and Garcia froze as Gideon stepped forward menacingly.

"I realise that you're stressed, but that's no reason to make us your targets. The only reason you're blaming us is because the person who did this is dead. And you can't get your hands on him, and maybe, just maybe, because you weren't there to stop it. Instead you were stuck alone in your cramped office, waiting for some news, any news of rescue while you were safe in your cyber world."

Slap.

Garcia immediately stared at her hand horror-struck, like her hand had had a mind of it's own. She stepped back as Gideon stared at her in shock and than it became too much. She collapsed back into one of the chairs and began sobbing heavily. Both Gideon and Elle looked at each other, clearly confused as to what to do. Gideon cleared his throat uncomfortably and extended his arms towards Garcia as if he was approaching a wild, injured animal.

Then, he heard another set of footsteps and a knock on the door. The all looked over to see a harassed middle aged woman, the roots of her hair already beginning to fade to a dull grey due to stress. She addressed the three occupants of the room in a weary voice,

"Excuse me, are you the family of Agent Rossi?"

Gideon snorted, but Garcia bustled forward towards the doctor. "I've… I've had too much bad news. Give me something good. Please tell me he'll be okay… please?"

The doctor gave Garcia a reassuring smile and Garcia visibly relaxed.

"Agent Rossi took quite a tumble but he's quite resilient, especially for his age. He has a minor concussion, so he'll need to stay in for observation. We stitched his forehead and he also has some bruised ribs so he'll have to take it easy for a while. And we reset his broken nose as well, it was only a slight break anyway."

Gideon's face flushed at the mention of the nose but Garcia didn't notice.

"Can I see him? Is he okay for visitors?" she asked.

"Yes he is up for visitors, and he's requesting to see a Miss Penelope Garcia?" Garcia rustled around in her bag for a moment, temporarily confusing the doctor before taking out her badge.

"I'm Penelope Garcia." she explained. Satisfied, the doctor nodded.

"Right this way Miss Garcia." Garcia began to follow the doctor before turning back to Gideon and Elle, confusion evident in her eyes.

Sensing her query, Gideon simply said, "Go, Penelope. As soon as there is an update, we'll come and find you."

Garcia nodded, added a small 'Thank you', and disappeared down the hallway. Gideon and Elle heard her high heels clip-clop along the hallway until they got muddled among the cacophony of other noises in the hospital.

Gideon sank further into his chair. Beside him, Elle sighed, "And now we wait."

"And now we wait." Gideon concurred.

* * *

_Reviews are love… even if the chapter took forever._


	28. Waiting: Wondering, Part I

_**Summary: **__It was something he'd learned of late. If you truly wanted to hurt someone, you aimed for the heart. Teamfic. Warning, character death! Set pre-Cradle to Grave._

_**Disclaimer:**__ Ava and Cara don't own Criminal Minds. But if they did, it'd probably be the most character-whump show in the world. _

_**Previously on 'Aim For The Heart': **__The death toll stands at; JJ, Haley, Officer Cameron Garvey, SWAT Officer Charlie Sierra and the big bad Boston Reaper, George Foyet. The team have been hurt in so many ways, as the doctors will remind you in this chapter. But thankfully, Hotch has found Jack. A least someone is safe in our hands. Also, the rest of the team were rushed to hospital and Reid's been talking to the dead… and undead?_

_**Authors' Note:**__ So sorry for the impromptu hiatus guys. Ava had pretty important exams recently that determine whether she got into college or not (waiting on the results now) as well as things such as projects, etc over the last few months. We're nearing the finale anyway, so hopefully we can finally finish this thing! Thanks to our reviewers from the last chapter PrincessHotch, I. Am. Cheese. And. Cheese. Is. Me, MutedNightingale, the-vampire-act, nexis44, Spark Shark, lolyncut and CMAli 1 . So sorry for the wait guys! Hopefully this chapter isn't too disappointing after that. :/_

_x Cara and Ava_

_P.S plenty of special appearances in this chapter!_

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty Seven - Waiting; Wondering. Part One.**_

_"Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts." ~ __Albert Einstein _

_The three of them stood staring at Police Officer Darcey Miles before a few moments before any of them had the sense to do anything else._

_Darcey turned to the two deceased teenagers and asked, _

"_Do you mind if we have a moment?" _

_The two young women stood for a moment before nodding and entering the door behind them. Cara turned to Reid, "We'll be in here when you've finished." _

_Ava said nothing but put her hand on Reid's shoulder and than turned and followed Cara through the door. _

_Reid and Darcey simply looked at one another for a moment before Reid spoke, "So… you're in a… grey area as well?"_

_Darcey chuckled, "Yes, I guess so." _

"_Have you had things…" _

"_Yes. I've seen Cameron." _

"_Cameron?" Reid asked, frowning, "As in Officer Garvey?" _

_Darcey narrowed her eyes, sensing the accusation, "I didn't kill him." _

"_I didn't say you did," Reid replied, a little alarmed at the sudden change in attitude. _

"_I'm a police officer - I investigate things. I can read between the lines." _

_Reid's tone was a little frosty in reply, "Somehow I don't think you'll be investigating things for much longer."_

_Darcey opened her mouth as if to say something, but quickly shut it again. She sighed, "You're right." She sank down against the wall and to the ground. Reid sat down next to her._

"_What's the point?" she asked herself more than anyone. "What's the point in trying to hang in there when I have nothing to go back to? My family are going to disown me. Cameron's dead. I'm going to get time for being an associate to murder. I should just die."_

_Reid was silent a moment. "You have to go back. You know you do. You will."_

_Darcey sighed. "You're right. You always are."_

_Another moment's peace before Reid had to ask the question that had been burning in his mind since he saw the young police officer._

"_Why did you take me?" he asked._

_To Reid's surprise, Darcey half smiled at the thought of her failed plan._

"_Not my most ingenious idea, I'll admit."_

"_Darcey."_

_She looked down at her feet as she answered, "You were next."_

"_You thought you were going to make things easier for Foyet?" Reid replied testily._

"_Not at all." she said. "I was trying to… I don't know… just get him the hell away from you. I don't know what came over me."_

_Suddenly, she stood up and offered Reid her hand, pulling him up with her._

"_Come on. We have limited time - you still have to see the Boss."_

_Reid frowned again. Who was this Boss they kept speaking of? Rather than ask questions, he nodded._

"_I don't know when I'll see you again, but you better hold on."_

_Darcey turned to leave knowing there was nothing left to say. It wasn't until she was halfway down the hall that Reid realised something. He called after her, "Hey Darcey… why are you here?"_

_She hesitated, "Foyet… shot me. I guess that can fall under some form of the definition for 'karma'."_

_Without another word, she turned and continued walking away. Reid looked after her and when he'd turned back, the two teenagers were waiting at the now open door. Their faces were sombre, and they glanced at one another._

"_You ready for this?" Cara asked slowly._

_Confused at their reluctance, Reid nodded as he walked through the door. Who he saw sitting at the desk startled him._

* * *

Garcia followed the doctor, her heels clip-clopping through the hall as she did. She nervous. She'd never seen Rossi hurt since he'd joined the BAU - and with the team's luck, that was saying something - so she didn't have any idea what to expect once she entered the hospital room. The doctor stopped and paused in front of the room.

"Don't look so nervous," the doctor commented, "You'll be fine. He's awake and pretty lucid and demanding as much information as the rest of you are. And he'll only be spending one night here, tops."

"Thank you," Garcia said as the doctor opened the door and ushered her inside.

The moment she stepped inside, Garcia was immediately grateful for one thing; the only wire attached to Rossi was taking a steady heart beat.

In all the time she had know Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi, she had never seen him look weak or tired. So to see the renowned author, the BAU's daddy lying in the cramped hospital bed - wearing a hospital issued gown, - with his eyes closed and nose bandaged, it was safe to say Penelope Garcia was a little scared. She hovered by the door, unsure what to do.

"Hey kiddo. Come on in." he said without opening his eyes

She edged into the room, cautiously. "Are you sure? I could come back later." Garcia said biting her lip.

"I haven't seen my favourite Tech kitten for days, there's no way I'm sending you away." He looked over at the usually flamboyant woman. Her make up was a mess, mascara making a trail down her pale cheeks.

Rossi patted the bed. "Any news?" he asked.

"Value of gold has increased. I bought shares on your behalf. Um... Google used Pacman for their logo again. That was fun. Got a massive score. Two hundred and twenty thousand. My cab driver could one day be an UnSub. A woman puked on the plane. Think that's about it. Ooh and I'm planning on buying rotten tomatoes so we can throw them at Elle and Gideon. Think of it as a more fun but smellier version of paint-balling."

"Where are Prentiss and Morgan? What about JJ? I've been kept in the dark. All I know is the genius wasn't looking to sharp when we pulled up. They won't tell me anything else. I've been waiting for ages for my promised update."

"Emily is - is being c-c-checked o-o-out." Garcia sniffled.

Rossi patted her knee comfortingly. "What about the others?" he urged gently.

"Jayje is...she ..." Penelope dissolved into tears again. Rossi's heart sank. He knew that Penelope Garcia could be an emotional person at times but this - there was something not right about this.

"No." _Please no, not Jennifer. _

Garcia nodded, shoulders limp. "That' s what traitors one and two said. I don't believe them though, I refuse to believe them. They both left. They're probably making it up, so that we'll be nice to them and not throw rotten tomatoes at them. Something tells me she's gonna walk through that door, smiling and making things better. I'm not giving up until I actually have proof. We need her. I'm not giving her up. It's not going to happen."

Rossi knew that if Garcia was thinking logically she'd realise that a dead team-mate was not something you lied about. It just wasn't done.

Rossi also knew that at this point Garcia was beyond thinking logically. It was going to hit her hard when she came to her senses.

There was a quite knock on the door. "Sorry to intrude. Penelope? Doctor says that Morgan's cleared for a visitor." Gideon called from the door. The doctor appeared behind him, frowning.

"Actually, Mr Gideon. What I said was Agent Morgan is cleared for a _family member_ to visit."

"But I am a family member. Well I will be soon. I'm his fiancée." Garcia said getting to her feet quickly.

Gideon stared at a smiling Garcia and a chuckling Rossi. "How much did I miss? I knew a lot had happened but this..."

"Agent Rossi? Is this true?" the doctor asked sceptically.

"Yes Doctor. They're planning a spring wedding. Small ceremony. Family and friends. Should be a nice day."

"Very well, this way Ms -"

"Start early Doc. What's a couple of months? I'm sure she won't mind being Mrs. Morgan." Rossi smiled a conspiring smile, as Garcia beamed.

"I like it. It has a nice ring to it. Lead the way Doctor. Lets not keep Mr Morgan from Mrs. Morgan." she giggled heading towards the door.

"Oh and Mr. Bestest-most-wonderful-and- ultimate-favourite-very-special-agent Rossi? I'll keep you in the loop." Garcia added with a wink. "We need to go dress shopping after all this. That is to buy a dress for me. Not you. because that would be trés weird. And I don't think the world is ready to see your sexy legs just yet. Or your Robot. They're the two big no-no's at the moment."

She walked out, the bemused doctor following after her.

"So Doc. Do you think champagne would suit my skin tone? Because I really don't want to look sickly in the wedding pictures. I mean they'll be shown to our grandbabies and -"

Garcia babbled happily until she was lost in the bustle of the hospital.

"How much did I miss?" Gideon asked shaking his head.

"Well you came back when we needed you. That counts for something, I guess." Rossi said slightly grudgingly.

Gideon shifted, appearing uncomfortable.

"Jason, If you're planning on leaving, now would be the time to do it. No friendships have been fully repaired. No one would hold it against you. No damage would be done."

Gideon could read between the lines. Reid wasn't conscious. He wouldn't know.

"He was hallucinating. It could all have been a hallucination. But chose now. And stick to it. This team - we have too much on our plates right now without having to clean up your mess. When things get too dull or too much for you to handle six months down the line - "

"It wouldn't be six months!" Gideon interjected sulkily.

"I don't care how long it'll be! For once... For once just make a choice and stick to it." Rossi said wearily, sitting back against his pillows.

"I've learnt my lesson. I can't stay away. I know I can't. So I'm staying."

"Yay!" Rossi said sarcastically. "Your words, your promises are meaningless to me -to us- right now. Keep your promises. Repair the damage. Don't make things worse. Then I might care."

* * *

"_Hey Spence."_

_Reid was in utter shock and felt himself collapse into the seat opposite. Because there, in a long, heavenly white dress, was Special Agent Jennifer Jareau._

"_You're…"_

"_Dead." JJ supplied dully. Before Reid has the opportunity to asked how, JJ pulls back her long flowing blonde hair and reveals a long thin scar, going from one side of her neck to the other._

"_Foyet's work." It isn't a question. Reid knows the answer already. They knew who had her. And they couldn't save her._

_She rises from her desk and walks to the two young women at the door. She whispers something quickly to them, and they nod and leave. JJ closes the door quietly behind them and leans against her desk._

"_I didn't feel it." JJ said quietly. Reid raises his eyebrows slightly at this and JJ is forced to back-track. "Okay that's a lie. There was some pain. But it was gone before I was really aware of it. I didn't have to suffer. All those people out there? Those two girls I sent away? It wasn't that quick for them…"_

_She was silent again, and Reid couldn't help but shake off the feeling that she was reliving it._

"_Why am I here?" Reid asked before he could stop himself, "Am I going to die?"_

_JJ smiled sadly, "That all depends on you Spence."_

"_On me?" Reid asked sceptically._

"_On you. Either you say goodbye to me and go back to living your life as best you can, or you give up and surrender." she explained._

"_That makes it sound pretty one sided." Reid argued._

"_That's because there's only one right decision. And I know you'll make it Spence."_

_They sit in companionable silence as Reid processes this. It's a moment before he asks another question with evident longing in his voice, "How long can I stay here?"_

_JJ looks at him in surprise, "Don't forget Spence - the longer you stay here, the harder it will be to leave."_

"_But I have some questions I need to ask you. This is most likely my last chance to ask you them." He spoke slowly, as if relishing every moment they had together. He opened his mouth and closed it again, as if there were something he wanted to ask but just couldn't form the words to say it. JJ knew what he wanted to know regardless._

"_You want to know why nothing… came out of our night out together?" JJ asked tentatively._

_Reid nodded, "I just… well I…"_

"_It's okay Spence," JJ assured him, "You only want to know why nothing ever came out of it. But I can assure, it had nothing to do with you."_

"_It sure seemed that way." Reid said quietly._

"_I had a great time that night Spence, don't let yourself ever think otherwise. You're a great person, and any girl would be insanely lucky to have your baby geniuses. But we were becoming really good friends, and sometimes you don't mess with a good thing."_

_Reid sat and digested that piece of information with a thoughtful look on his face._

"_You know you're going to have take of Henry now." JJ said sadly._

_Reid did a quick double take, "But Will… he isn't -"_

"_He's fine physically," JJ explained, "But mentally… he'll be a mess. At least one good thing came from your torment with Foyet - you can finally get closure. The others will have to move on having never had this chance. At least you can see that the work you guys suffer through is worth it. They're at peace. I'm at peace."_

"_Is Foyet-"_

"_Dead? Yes. But that's a story you can look forward to in recovery. But for now there's something I want from you."_

_Reid looked panicked, "Want from me?"_

"_Yes Spence, from you. Can you remember what we were doing right before we ended up in this big mess?"_

"_Err… on another case?"_

"_Oh Reid, we have more of a social life than that. Remember you used your crutches as an excuse not to dance with us?"_

"_Vaguely." Reid replied. He wasn't sure where this was leading to, but could hazard an educated guess._

"_Well, that excuse won't work here Spence!"_

_JJ walked forward and pulled Reid up from his seat. She grinned as he flushed when she placed his hands on her waist, hers on his shoulders. They swayed from side to side gently, both surprised at how swift the other seemed to be on their feet._

"_I was expecting to be on a heap on the floor, Spence." JJ chuckled. "You're not as bad as you say you are."_

_Reid avoided her eyes. He didn't want this to be it. After over five years of friendship, of being a team. This was it. Surprising himself, he pulled JJ in for a hug, "I'm so sorry."_

_JJ let the tears begin to fall, "It's alright. It's not your fault."_

"_I'd trade places with you in a second if I could." Reid said hurriedly, holding the blonde close._

"_I know you would Reid, that's the problem." JJ sniffed into his shoulder. "There's a reason it's always you that gets hurt."_

"_I'm just extremely unlucky?" Reid guessed._

"_Guess again." JJ sighed. "It's like someone really has it out for you Spence - but every time you get hurt it's in someone else's place."_

"_That's not true." Reid argued._

"_I think you'll find it is." JJ said, the corners of her mouth twitching at Reid's childlike reaction. "On that train in Dallas to help save Elle and the hostages -"_

"_But Morgan would never have been able to learn that trick-"_

"_-splitting up and having to deal with Tobias on your own -"_

"_-while you got attacked by dogs." Reid grumbled._

_JJ frowned at the genius before continuing, and Reid took that as a signal to stop interrupting the blonde._

"_Locking yourself in a room full of anthrax so Morgan wouldn't follow you in. Getting shot in the place of-"_

"_Okay JJ." Reid sighed, "I get it."_

_JJ gave Reid a hard stare for a moment, before rushing forward and enveloping him in another hug. "I just want you to take care of yourself Spence. Try and put yourself first while you recover from this. Please Spence. You'll lose it otherwise."_

_She looked at him imploringly, begging him to listen to her._

_Reid nodded, "But I won't be neglecting my godfather duties."_

_JJ choked back a sob, "Look after him Spence."_

_Reid heard the obvious creak of a door opening. Cara and Ava stood awkwardly at the door. Ava bit her lip before saying, "It's time."_

_JJ pulled Reid in closer and cried even harder into his shoulder, "I'm going to miss you all so much."_

_Reid quietly replied, "We'll miss you too." They stood together, embracing for a moment before Cara and Ava walked over and reluctantly pulled them apart._

"_If you don't go now, you'll never do it." Cara said as she led the way back towards the door._

_Ava gave Reid's shoulder a reassuring squeeze and they followed the younger woman towards the exit. They stood at the door for a minute, before Ava, seemingly reading Reid's mind said quietly to the genius, "She belongs here."_

"_She's running the show here now." Cara grinned._

"_Go Spence," JJ urged, silent tears still falling down her face._

"_You know one in ten people have experienced an out-of-body experience?" Reid stated._

_JJ laughed, "That's more like it Spence."_

_Cara pulled him aside as Reid was about to step into the unknown, "You know 1.5 million people were living with HIV at the end of the previous year."_

_Reid looked a little perplexed, "Why are you telling me this."_

_She didn't answer. Instead. her face began to blur, along with the blonde's and the brunette's in the background. That was last thing he heard before the scene around him disintegrated._

* * *

Penelope Garcia was even more nervous as she followed the doctor through the long and winding hallways.

Her chocolate Adonis. What had been done to him? Did he know about JJ? Had he seen her…

No. The words were too painful to think. This was all too hard, too difficult. It was all too much.

The doctor stopped outside a door and gestured to Garcia. "He's in there."

"How… how is he. Really?" Garcia asked nervously. She wasn't so sure she could handle this anymore. Did Morgan know about JJ? Would she have to fill him in with the pretty sketchy idea she had?

"Physically, he'll overcome this. He's relatively young, healthy and strong. Mentally… it'll take time. I don't know what happened to them, but I can safely assume from Agent Morgan's extensive injuries that he was tortured. Brutally. He has bruises, lacerations, he's dehydrated… it really speaks for itself. Mentally, hard to say. He refused to give any details of what happened to him."

Garcia mumbled under her breath, the doctor only catching odd phrases like 'stubborn as hell' and 'make my chocolate Adonis tell me'.

"He's a little groggy, but you can see him now, if you like."

Garcia nodded, the doctor walked away and she mentally prepared herself for opening the door. When she gained the courage, she pushed it open.

He was awake. He was looking reflectively out the window of the small box room, in deep thought. He looked awful. There were bandages all over his body, as well as stitches and a solemn look on his face. Garcia tentatively knocked at the door.

As soon as he saw her, his face lit up. "Baby girl."

"I'd have been here sooner but I couldn't dig up enough dirt on the doctors." Garcia replied, settling herself in the chair next to his bed. "Oh and if anyone asks, I'm your fiancée."

Morgan chuckled, "Oh really? I'm guessing you already have plenty of plans for our big day?"

"Believe me I've been planning this day since we first met. And so does Rossi it seems, he has a few ideas of how he wants things to roll. Maybe he could be your best man? Or had you your own idea of that?"

"Well it was between him, Hotch and Pretty Boy anyway." Morgan grinned.

On hearing Reid's name, Garcia couldn't help herself. "How's Reid? No one's told me anything. Is he okay? Rossi said he didn't look too great… And Gideon could only tell me he was alive…"

As Garcia asked about their injured genius, she saw the reluctance there. Something had happened. Before Morgan could try and reassure her, Garcia snapped,

"Did anyone come back in one piece?"

Morgan was silent for a moment as he pondered his answer.

"I don't think so," he confessed, "mentally or physically."

As they thought about this in silence, there was a knock at the door and Gideon entered.

"Please tell me its good news." Garcia pleaded.

"Emily's been taken to surgery. There were a few lacerations that were too deep to simply stitch up so she has to have a minor surgery to close the wounds on her chest."

Garcia gasped in horror, Morgan nodded. He had witnessed those wounds inflicted first hand and knew that this may happen. Gideon made himself comfortable in the second chair present in the room.

"Elle's with Rossi. They'll let us know when there's news."

"Where's Hotch?" Garcia asked tentatively.

No one could answer.

* * *

_I don't think we should even mention about how reviews are love here… we're unworthy…_


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